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the hills until nearly seven o'clock. As a result, the migrating 

 flocks do not appear in the marsh until much later in the 

 evening. Between four and six p.m. the adult residents can 

 be seen dropping in, usually singly or in pairs. Shortly after 

 six, the first flock of migrants appears, frequently coming from 

 the east, but more often from the south. Other flocks follow 

 at intervals until nearly dusk. The flocks are small and rather 

 irregular, the total number of individuals not exceeding 

 seventy-five or a hundred birds. From the second week in 

 May until the last of the month, these flocks continue. 



Arrival of resident immature females. — The immature females 

 begin to appear with the immature males about the middle of 

 the month. They increase in numbers until the first of June, 

 when they far outnumber the males, and by the second week, 

 when the last migrating birds are recorded, they compose the 

 entire flocks. These flocks are nervous and erratic in their 

 actions. They frequently appear during the middle of the 

 day, flying over the marsh as though on a definite migration. 

 The next moment, however, they swing back, scatter, settle 

 down for a few moments, and just as suddenly are away again 

 to another part of the marsh. It is doubtless through some of 

 these birds, at a time when unattached males are difficult to 

 find, that many of the cases of polygamy arise. 



Summary of Spring Migration. — To summarize the spring 

 migration, the groups of migrants and the periods of migration 

 are arranged below in tabular form. Inasmuch as definite 

 dates have not been secured for a sufficient number of years to 

 furnish averages, the periods of 1911 only (with two exceptions, 

 as noted) are employed. 



I. "Vagrants" Feb. 25-March 4. 



II. Migrant adult males March 13-April 21. 



III. Resident adult males March 25-April 10. 



IV. Migrant females and immature males March 29-April 24. 

 V. Resident adult females April 10-May 1. 



VI. Resident immature males May 6- June 1 (1910). 



VII. Resident immature females. May 10- June 11 (1910). 



The first date of the period of migration, as given above, is 

 that of the first appearance; the last date in some cases is of 

 necessity only approximate, because of the difficulty in dis- 

 tinguishing migrant from resident birds. 



