jBtotcg front JTtclti anO ^tuDj» 



A Morning's Bird-List 



As is well known, the spring of 1900 was 

 an extraordinary bird-season in southern 

 New England and the Middle States- 

 Many usually rare species among the north- 

 ward migrants became decidedly common; 

 while, in addition to this, there was a re- 

 markable dallying of northern winter visi- 

 tants far south of their normal limits. The 

 result, particularly within the northern 

 border of the Carolinian zone, was a mos^ 

 extraordinary conglomeration of birds, the 

 like of which will probably not be seen 

 again for many years. 



Mr. Louis A. Fuertes and I had the 

 good fortune to spend most of that spring 

 together, in a particularly favorable locality, 

 at Scarboro, on the east shore of the Hud- 

 son river, thirty miles above New York. 

 This place, which is part of the ground 

 made historic for ornithologists by the re- 

 searches of Dr. Fisher, had the peculiar 

 advantage of being within the overlap of 

 the newly settled Carolinian and the loiter- 

 ing boreal birds, and at the same time full 

 in the track of the great northward migra- 

 tion of Canadian species. A better posi- 

 tion for studying the incongruities of the 

 season could hardly have been chosen. In 

 the rich, luxuriant spring of that warm, 

 alluvial land, where already in mid-May 

 the landscape wore the garb" of summer, 

 and the southern birds, such as Kentucky, 

 Hooded, Blue-winged, Prairie and Worm- 

 eating Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chats, 

 Louisiana Water-Thrushes, Orchard Ori- 

 oles, Acadian Fhcatchers, etc., were set- 

 tled on their breeding - grounds, it was 

 indeed strange to hear the soft, chattering 

 call and clear ' bleat ' of White-winged 

 Crossbills, which still climbed about our 

 Norway spruces, in twos and threes. Two 

 at least and I think three of these birds 

 were still in the region when I left on May 

 29. Furthermore, they were to all intents 

 and purposes j^///^(/ in the Norway spruces 



about my home, rarely straying from them,, 

 and had been in this chronic state for 

 weeks, so that they doubtless lingered on 

 well into June at least. There is no reason 

 to believe, however, the birds were nesting. 

 Red Crossbills and Siskins were also pres- 

 ent throughout May, and Redpoll Linnets 

 were seen on April 29. 



Altogether we found over a hundred and 

 forty species within two or three miles of 

 .;ir house, in the course of two months. 

 Thirty-two of these were Warblers,— all 

 the Warblers normally possible to the re- 

 gion, with the exception of the Orange- 

 crowned, Connecticut, Cerulean, Brewster's- 

 and Kirtland's, — birds so unlikely to occur 

 there at that season as to be hardly worth 

 considering in this connection. Thirty of 

 these Warblers were found on the small 

 homestead described below. 



The appended list of eighty species seeiv 

 on a single forenoon gives an idea of the^ 

 wonderful diversity and richness of the tem- 

 porary avifauna. With very few excep- 

 tions, these birds were all found on a single- 

 hillside homestead of about six acres, con- 

 taining grass-land, bushes and brambles, 

 as well as many fruit and evergreen trees. 

 Our only excursion beyond these limits was- 

 a walk across lots to the river, a distance of 

 half a mile, and only two or three species 

 (among them the Rough-winged Swallow) 

 were added by this trip. Fuertes and I 

 were almost constantly together, so that we 

 had scarcely any advantages over a single 

 observer. Considering the limitations of 

 time and area, this list seems to be a very 

 large one. Extending our field half a mile 

 to the eastward would have added at least 

 four species, among them the Kentucky and 

 Worm-eating Warblers. Notice that the 

 list consists almost wholly of the smaller 

 passerine birds, and does not include even 

 a single Hawk. 



May 12, igoo. Bob-white, Mourning 

 Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black-billed 

 Cuckoo, Downy Woodpecker, Flicker,. 



(97) 



