78 ^ 



termed '^vagrants," because they are supposed not to represent 

 the beginning of the true migration, but to be individuals 

 which have wintered not very far to the south. These birds 

 are not recorded every year, but when they do appear, they 

 are noted in February. In 1906 they were first recorded on 

 February 24, in 1909 on February 22, and in 1911 on February 

 25. In 1907, 1908, and 1910, they were not recorded. They 

 precede the true migrants by an average of 13 days. The 

 ''vagrants" are for the most part adult males, but immature 

 males or females may be found among them. They are 

 never in large flocks, and often occur singly. The reproductive 

 organs are very small, especially in the case of immature birds 

 (Plate XXI, A), in which they have scarcely begun to enlarge. 

 They differ from the next migrants to arrive, in that they fre- 

 quently linger about the marsh in the daytime and seem in no 

 hurry about their migration. They sometimes remain until 

 the true migrants arrive, although usually there is a well- 

 defined interval between their depature and the arrival of 

 the next group. Their food at this time is almost entirely 

 animal, consisting of weevils, lepidopterous larvae and pupae, 

 and ground beetles, which they secure for the most part in the 

 alder-willow zone. They do not frequent the open marsh. 



Arrival of Migrant Adult Males. — The first true migrants 

 arriving in the spring are adult males. They appear in flocks, 

 some of which contain a hundred or more birds, and ordinarily 

 are first noted in the marsh, although occasionally seen in 

 tree tops or stubble fields on the uplands. The average date 

 of arrival from 1906 to 1911 was March 9 — nearly two weeks 

 after the arrival of the "vagrants." By this time the ice has 

 usually disappeared from the streams, and the marsh is 

 flooded (Plate I, fig. 1). The fires of the fall and winter 

 have left merely the half-burned, sharply pointed stubble 

 projecting above the water, so that in the open marsh shelter 

 is very scant. Birds and organisms of all kinds are exceedingly 

 scarce. A few early Pike have begun to splash, but there are 

 few other signs of spring. 



At this season of the year, about 4.30 in the afternoon, 

 let us take a stand at the upper end of the marsh and gaze 



