THE TWIN ISLANDS. 175 



•will. Hence the seasons and other circumstances will 

 greatly regulate the arrival of birds in, and their flight 

 or removal from, a particular country. Sometimes there 

 is a difference of three weeks or a month between the 

 arrival or appearance of the same species in two differ- 

 ent years. This will appear from the following in- 

 stances, which are selected from many others. ... It 

 will appear that the Alauda alpestris or shore lark ; the 

 Alauda rubra or red lark (titlark ?) ; the Fringilla tris- 

 tis or golden finch, and some others, were not observed 

 in the vicinity of Philadelphia earlier than March 12, 

 1791 ; whereas the same birds were seen in the same 

 neighborhood as early as February 28th, the following 

 year, on their passage northward. . . ." 



It would appear from this that these birds were mere- 

 ly birds of passage, which made no protracted stay in 

 this neighborhood. As a matter of fact, the two larks 

 arrive from the north in October, and tarry until April. 

 They are characteristic features of our midwinter land- 

 scapes, and reside with us for nearly one-half of the year. 

 Is it possible that, when Dr. Barton wrote, they passed 

 us by in autumn, and after a protracted stay in more 

 southern localities, only lingered in the vicinity of Phil- 

 adelphia for a few days or weeks at most ? 



More strangely still, the " golden finch," our familiar 

 thistle-bird, is now a resident species, and while wander- 

 ing and erratic is in no sense migratory. Dr. Barton 

 did not confound it with the pine-finch, for of the latter 

 he has much to say, and was clearly well acquainted with 

 both species. If not a blunder, which it is hard to be- 

 lieve, this bird has greatly changed its habits. 



