May, 1908 107 



SOME FAI.L MIGRATION NOTES FROM ARIZONA 



By HARRY S. SWARTH 



LAST September, in response to the cordial suggestion of Mr. James H. Fer- 

 riss, of Joliet, Illinois, that I accompany him on a trip to some of the 

 mountain ranges of southern Arizona, I gladly availed myself of the oppor- 

 tunity, and so had an exceedingly enjoyable six weeks in the field. There were 

 three of us in the party, Mr. Ferriss, Mr. E- E. Daniels of Eaporte, Indiana, and 

 myself. Mr. Ferriss and Mr. Daniels devoted themselves to land shells and ferns, 

 while I, though most interested in birds, collected also what mammals, reptiles, and 

 insects I could. Eeaving Chicago the evening of September 18 we arrived at 

 Benson, Arizona, early in the morning of Saturday, September 21. Saturday was 

 taken up in the various necessary preparations, including arrangements for trans- 

 portation; and early the next morning we started for the Rincon Mountains, some 

 twenty-five miles to the northward, arriving at "Happy Valley" about dusk, after 

 traveling all day over tiresomely rough, rocky roads. We were camped in a 

 broad, but very rough and uneven valley, grown over with underbrush, and with 

 but few large trees except along the bed of the main stream; intersected by count- 

 less deep-cut gullies running from the higher hills to the stream in the center of 

 the valley. To reach the pine woods of the higher altitudes entailed an exceed- 

 ingly arduous climb, one of such length as to render it hardly possible to return to 

 camp the same day. The Rincons proved disappointing in respect to animal life. 

 There was an abundance of vegetation, and plenty of water, but birds and mam- 

 mals were remarkably scarce; so, after a week of hard labor, with but little to 

 show for it, an opportunity presenting itself, we decided to return to Benson and 

 make a fresh start. From there we went to the Huachuca Mountains, arriving on 

 the evening of September 30. We intended to make but a short stay there, but, 

 the mountains proving fruitful in snails and plants, as well as in birds, kept delay- 

 ing our departure; and when my companions finally decided to move on to the 

 Chiricahuas, on October 28, I thought it best to remain where I was for the brief 

 remainder of the time at my disposal, and did so, starting for home on November 

 8. During most of the trip the weather was pleasant, except for one or two rain- 

 storms, but toward the end of October the nights became quite cold, and the first 

 week in November there was snow in the higher parts of the mountains. 



My excuse for the following list is that it is, in a measure, supplemental to 

 and rounds out my previously published account of the birds of the Huachuca 

 Mountains (Pacific Coast Avifauna, No. 4, 1904). I kept track rather carefully of 

 the migration that was in progress, and am consequently able to give dates of de- 

 parture of many species. In a number of cases I have also given dates of arrival, 

 as already published in the above mentioned paper, so as to have in one place a 

 statement of the time when the species may be looked for in the region. 



I had never collected here in the late fall before, and found much of interest in 

 the movements of the birds, while in several instances I was obliged to revise my 

 previous convictions as to the manner of occurrence of certain species. Thus I 

 had always supposed Cojviis cryptohucus to be a resident in this region, as it cer- 

 tainly is not during the winter; while most surprising of all to me was the total 

 absence of the Western Robin {Planestiais migratorius propmguus) from the 

 Huachucas, where always before I had found it in abundance at all times from 

 February to September. There was plenty of food, for the bushes were loaded with 



