﻿32 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  wren. 
  When 
  these 
  birds 
  have 
  once 
  been 
  killed 
  off, 
  before 
  their 
  successors 
  

   can 
  invade 
  the 
  country 
  again 
  by 
  the 
  difficult 
  or 
  circuitous 
  route 
  from 
  their 
  

   center 
  of 
  abundance 
  in 
  the 
  south, 
  other 
  hard 
  winters 
  appear 
  and 
  thus 
  

   they 
  are 
  held 
  continually 
  in 
  check. 
  

  

  The 
  Carolinian 
  faunal 
  area 
  which 
  is 
  the 
  eastern 
  or 
  humid 
  division 
  of 
  the 
  

   Upper 
  Austral 
  zone 
  defined 
  above, 
  is 
  the 
  warmest 
  of 
  the 
  life 
  areas 
  repre- 
  

   sented 
  in 
  New 
  York. 
  According 
  to 
  the 
  temperature 
  limits 
  mentioned, 
  this 
  

   area 
  would 
  include 
  Staten 
  Island, 
  the 
  principal 
  portion 
  of 
  Long 
  Island, 
  

   and 
  the 
  Hudson 
  vallev 
  as 
  far 
  north 
  as 
  southern 
  Saratoga 
  county. 
  "Count- 
  

   ing 
  from 
  the 
  north, 
  the 
  Carolinian 
  area 
  is 
  that 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  sassafras, 
  tulip 
  

   tree, 
  hackberry, 
  sycamore, 
  sweet 
  guin, 
  rose 
  -magnolia, 
  red 
  bud, 
  persimmon, 
  

   and 
  short-leaf 
  pine 
  first 
  make 
  their 
  appearance, 
  together 
  with 
  the 
  opossum, 
  

   gray 
  fox, 
  fox 
  squirrel. 
  Cardinal 
  bird, 
  Carolina 
  wren, 
  Tufted 
  tit, 
  Gnatcatcher, 
  

   Summer 
  tanager, 
  and 
  Yellow-breasted 
  chat. 
  Chestnuts, 
  hickory 
  nuts, 
  

   hazelnuts, 
  and 
  walnuts 
  grow 
  in 
  abundance" 
  [Merriam]. 
  These 
  character- 
  

   istic 
  plants 
  and 
  animals 
  are 
  well 
  represented 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  

   city, 
  but, 
  of 
  the 
  birds 
  mentioned 
  the 
  Gnatcatcher 
  and 
  Summer 
  tanager 
  

   are 
  not 
  known 
  to 
  breed 
  even 
  on 
  Staten 
  Island. 
  As 
  one 
  passes 
  up 
  the 
  Hud- 
  

   son 
  valley 
  there 
  is 
  less 
  and 
  less 
  evidence 
  of 
  the 
  Carolinian 
  flora, 
  and, 
  of 
  the 
  

   characteristic 
  birds 
  mentioned 
  above, 
  after 
  the 
  Highlands 
  are 
  passed 
  only 
  

   the 
  Yellow-breasted 
  chat 
  is 
  an 
  established 
  species. 
  In 
  western 
  New 
  York 
  

   the 
  sassafras, 
  tulip 
  tree 
  and 
  sycamore 
  are 
  well 
  represented, 
  but 
  the 
  opossum, 
  

   gray 
  fox 
  and 
  fox 
  squirrel 
  have 
  rarely 
  been 
  taken, 
  and 
  must 
  be 
  regarded 
  as 
  

   only 
  accidental. 
  All 
  the 
  birds 
  mentioned 
  in 
  the 
  above 
  quotation 
  have 
  

   occurred 
  in 
  western 
  New 
  York, 
  but 
  only 
  the 
  Yellow-breasted 
  chat 
  is 
  an 
  

   established 
  breeding 
  species, 
  and 
  is 
  local 
  in 
  distribution. 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  table 
  will 
  show 
  the 
  proportion 
  of 
  Carolinian 
  elements 
  

   in 
  the 
  bird 
  fauna 
  of 
  the 
  different 
  districts 
  in 
  New 
  York 
  which 
  have 
  been 
  

   considered 
  of 
  Upper 
  Austral 
  affinities. 
  The 
  average 
  temperature 
  of 
  the 
  

   hottest 
  six 
  weeks 
  of 
  summer 
  is 
  taken 
  from 
  the 
  records 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  

   Meteorological 
  Bureau. 
  

  

  