THE OOLOGIST. 



155 



of oni' Aiiicriean l)ir(l.s and to turn to 

 advantago the o'Dservations made l)y 

 onr ornithologists and oologists 



Our work for 1889 will l)e on tlu' fam- 

 ily of Thrushes. 



In the lirst rejiort, due in April, mem- 

 l)(>rs will enumerate the Thrushes known 

 to oeeur in their loeality and 



I. State, by using the ahhreviations 

 indieated, to which of the following live 

 eategories each species belong: 



1. Permanent Resident, or found 

 regularly throughout the year (R). 



3. Winter Visitant, or oecui's onlj" 

 during the Winter season, passing- 

 north in the Spring (W V). 



3. Transient Visitant, or occurs only 

 during the migrations in S])ring and 

 Fall (T V). 



4. Summer Resident, or known to 

 breed, but departs soutlnvard l^efore 

 Winter (S R). 



5. Accidental Visitant, or straggler 

 from a remote loeality (A V). 



Also indicate the relative abundance, 

 as: Abundant, C-ommon, Tolerably 

 Common or Rare. 



Synonyms: Enumerate all common 

 names applied in your locality, to these 

 birds. 



The second report, due July 1, 



II. Migration: Note: Wlien the spe- 

 cies is first seen and number observed 

 at- this time. 2. When it is next seen/ 

 8. Wlien it becomes common. 4. 

 When tlie Imlk departs. 5. When the 

 last invidual is seen. 



In the Sx^ring Migration under 4 and 

 5 would be given the date ^^■]\on the 

 Transient Visitants at your place de- 

 part northward ; and in the Fall Migra- 

 tion should be noted, the date at which 

 tliey arrive from the North and at which 

 they go S(«ith. 



Habitat: Are they found in forests, 

 marshes, dry uplands, on borders of 

 ponds or lakes, running streams or near 

 dwellings ? Can you give any reason 

 for this choice of location ? 



Nesting: (rive full full particulars of 



construction, position, height from 

 ground, locality, proximity to watei-, 

 contents of nests, as eggs or young, ex- 

 act date, incubation of eggs, identtica- 

 tion and ccnuposition of each nest found 

 during the year. Descriptions of sets, 

 giAing, in addition to particulars eon- 

 ccuMiing nest and sun-oundings, the size 

 and coloration of each egg ai-e especially 

 desii-alde. Describe peculiar situiitious 

 of nests. Do the eggs laid late in the 

 season differ in size, color or numl)er 

 from those laid earlier ? 

 If so, state fully your authority. 

 Natural Enemies: Emunerate the 

 birds, mammals or reptiles which have 

 been known to disturb, or attack any of 

 these species. Give all methods and 

 artifices used by the birds for their pi-o- 

 tection from enemies or storms. 

 Third report, due Oct. 1. 

 Any additional notes on the preeeed- 

 ing reports and: Number of broods 

 raised by one pair of l)irds in one sea- 

 son, giving full particulars. If possi- 

 ble give the length of time required be- 

 fore the eggs are hatched from the time 

 they were laid and the length of time 

 each brood is cared for by the parent 

 birds. 



Habits: Ex^olain all peculiar habits. 

 Describe flight. When on the ground 

 do they liop, or I'un '? 



Song: Favorite time of day ov night; 

 influence of weather on its song; differ- 

 ence between song of male and female. 

 Relations Avith Cow-bird {MoJothrus 

 ater); are any of these species imposed 

 upon by the Cow -bird ? 

 Give particulai's, date, etc. 

 Fourth repoit, due Dec. 1, will be on 

 the Fall Migration and additional notes 

 on the precceding repcn-ts. 



In addition to this general plan, our 

 members, in those states whese we have 

 a sufficient number of of observers, 

 have selected two common summer res- 

 idents whic-h can be studied to special 

 advantage in their locality, for their 

 special attention. 



