104 



closing features of the month (July). . . . The opening fort- 

 night (November) witnesses the full tide of Blackbirds, the 

 Red-winged returning after a long void but imperfectly broken 

 since the breeding season." Between 1892 and 1905 various 

 references to the fall migration are made, but nothing new is 

 added. In 1905 Townsend gives an account of the fall migra- 

 tion as it occurs in Essex County, Mass. ''As early as July 1 

 the females and young gather in small scattered flocks, together 

 with a few adult males. By the middle of July the flocks 

 are moderate in size, while by the end of the month they have 

 gone up into the hundreds, composed of females and young, 

 while only a few red-shouldered males are to be seen. . . . 

 The flocks of young then diminish in size and by the end of 

 August are generally gone. Then ensues a period when Red- 

 winged Blackbirds are rarely seen, but in the latter part of 

 September and in October large flocks of the more northern 

 birds appear." 



To summarize, then, it has been stated that after the second 

 brood has left the nest, which may be as early as July 1, the 

 females and young gather in flocks and visit the uplands. 

 The males assemble in similar places, but remain in distinct 

 flocks. Here they feed largely in grain and stubble fields. 

 During the first of August all of the Redwings disappear, 

 and are not seen again until the middle or latter part of 

 September. The males are the first to disappear. This 

 phenomenon has been noticed from Massachusetts to Louisi- 

 ana, and has been variously interpreted. In the north it has 

 been explained as their departure for the south, and in the 

 south as a departure for better feeding grounds. During the 

 last of September they appear again in numbers larger than 

 ever before, the sexes in distinct flocks. At this time they 

 come to the marshes to roost each night, and feed on the up- 

 lands during the day. During the winter they may be found 

 in the states south of Maryland in large flocks. The sexes 

 remain apart, but generally a few immature males accompany 

 the females. 



Considerable time has been devoted to the study of the 

 postnuptial movements of the Redwings at Ithaca, until it is 



