10 BULLETIN 187^ U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



the bird censuses. All but three of the observers report its presence on 

 the census-covered areas, while its numbers vary from one pair on a 

 49-acre tract in Virginia, and one pair on a 79-acre farm in western 

 Pennsylvania, to 11 pairs on 80 acres in Vermont, 12 pairs on 100 

 acres in Maine, and 16 pairs on 70 acres in Connecticut, The densest 

 robin population reported was 21 pairs on 40 acres at Meriden, Conn., 

 and 19 pairs on 23 acres at Chevy Chase, Md., but in both cases the 

 areas selected were village lots with no cultivated land and a maxi- 

 mum of attractive building sites in shade and fruit trees. The aver- 

 age of the censuses of robins on farms in northeastern United States 

 is six pairs per farm on the 58 acres. 



The next most common bird in the Northeastern States is the 

 Enghsh sparrow. Ordinarily this bird is thought of as a city rather 

 than as a country bird, for nowhere on farms can the flocks of hun- 

 dreds be found which are a common sight during winter in the larger 

 cities. However, nearly every farm has a few pairs and the number 

 of farms is so great that the aggregate farm population is probably 

 several times that in the cities. The census of farms in the North- 

 eastern States averages five pairs of English sparrows to each farm. 



No other bird is anywhere near as abundant as either the robin or 

 the English sparrow, but several others are common enough to make 

 their total numbers run weU into the milhons. For every 100 robins 

 reported in the 1914 census there were 49 catbirds, 37 brown thrash- 

 ers, 28 house wrens, 27 kingbirds, and 26 bluebirds. This last num- 

 ber is particularly gratifying because only a few years ago nearly the 

 whole bluebird population of the Eastern States was destroyed by an 

 unusually severe winter. Since then the birds have been gradually 

 recovering from the catastrophe, and this season's census shows that 

 there are now several million bluebirds in northeastern United States. 



SUMMARY. 



The census of birds of the United States was undertaken to ascer- 

 tain the number and relative abundance of species as a basis for 

 determining the adequacy of the protection now afforded them, in 

 view of the law protecting migratory game and insectivorous birds. 



While previous attempts were more local and not on the scale 

 deemed necessary in the plans for the 1914 census, this census did 

 not yield needful information from aU parts of the country, the fuUest 

 reports coming from the Northeastern States. 



The census will need to be repeated on a larger scale for several 

 years and, for comparative purposes, should more fully cover the 

 Southern and Western States, that the cause of increase or decrease 

 in numbers may be determined, and that it may be known whether 

 the changes are general or local. 



