Hennin^, The Pied-bill Grebe. J:1 



e^gs that I have found lately were not covered at all. A fine set of nine (9) 

 collected by myself" May 30th of this year in a pond half a mile east of my home 

 did not have a single grass blade for covering. 



When feeding, the Grebes stay away from their nest a long time, often 

 going long distances to find their favorite food, and may then cover their e^gs 

 with decaying vegetation in order to keep them warm until their return to the 

 nest, or when alarmed she may hastily cover the eggs for protection, but I 

 hardly think that the eggs are incubated by "heat generated by the decaying 

 vegetation which usually composes the nest," although most writers claims this 

 to be a fact. In a letter received from my esteemed friend Dr. Elliott Coiies, 

 Washington, D. C, January 28th, 1894, in reply to my inqiiiry regarding the 

 nesting and breeding habits of the Pied- bill Grebe, writes me as follows : "The 

 Grebe yon name hatches its eggs mainly by animal heat to which that of 

 decaying vegetation can add but little if any. " 



EFFECT OF THE SEASON ON MIGRATION. 



BY H. J. GIDDINGS. 



IN studying migration, one of the principal questions to present itself is the 

 effect of the season on the movement of the different species. And that the 

 changes in the season, one year with another, does influence the movement of 

 the different species is well proven. Although what that power is which com- 

 pels the various species to take up their annual march with the season each 

 year, verying from a short distance in some species to thousands of miles in 

 others, still remains undiscovered. In my opinion this impulse can be partly ac- 

 counted for by the general restlessness of the different species which causes 

 them to be continually on the move, except during the breeding season. 



Tlie present season has been remarkable here for the large portion of cold 

 weather intersperced with a few warm spells of a few days at a time, which 

 would lead us to look for some unusual effect upon migration, and that is what 

 we find, at least with regard to some of the less hardy species. On a comparison 

 of my notes of the present season with those for the past eight years I find that 

 while stragglers of a good many species came as early as usual, the biilk of most 

 species did not follow as closely behind the first as usual, and a few species 

 which usually summer here in quite considerable numbers have almost failed 

 to put in an appearance. 



With regard to the Warblers there wasn't any time when they were present 

 in any great numbers, but came straggling along a few at a time and never 

 enough present at one time to make much of a showing, and what were present 

 were unusually quiet. All of the more hardy species came aboiit as usual and 

 at about the average time. The following is the date of arrival of some of the 

 most common species that arrived at about the average time : March 10, Mal- 

 lard, Pintail, Robin, Bluebird; March II, Canada Goose, Meadow lark, Wilson 

 Snipe, Rusty Crackle; March 13, Redwing Blackbird; March 14, Bronze 

 Grackle; March If), Song Sparrow; March 33, Phoebe, Flicker, and a single 



