OSCAR BIRD WARREN. 87 
the characteristics of avian life. During migration a sudden 
change of weather is sure to bring a bird-flight, and if the 
observer is in the field early, perhaps he may be able to note 
an especially rare specimen, which otherwise would have been 
lost to him. 
This spring a radical change in barometric conditions, fol- 
lowed by a heavy fall of snow on the 25th of May, stopped 
the hosts of migrants and produced an unusually large bird- 
wave. How surprised they looked to be met by such a wel- 
come! How cold and uncomfortable they seemed! Some, 
however, rather enjoyed it. The Juncos chirped pleasantly, 
the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks whistled merrily, and the 
White-throated Sparrows sang their sweetest. But the poor 
little Warblers were affected differently ; being. wholly un- 
prepared for such cold treatment, and without food, numbers 
perished in the snow. The early Myrtle, the Palm, the 
Black-and-white Creeping, the Nashville, and other Warblers 
were found dead during the storm. The Redstarts fared 
the worst, and many a bright bird which in summer would 
shave enlivened our northern forests by its spirited songs was 
buried in an icy grave. 
Of all bird pictures seen during this storm the most beauti- 
ful for contrast of colors—a background of green hazels, in 
the distance dark pines and hemlocks, above a humid sky, 
and inthe foreground a Tanager perched on the projecting 
point of a buried stub, appearing like a great drop of blood 
upon the spotless snow. 
In the spring migrations birds are most plentiful on the 
sunny side of the evergreen woods and groves, along the 
hedgerows, or among the shrubbery near human habita- 
tions; while in the fall migrations they are also found 
in highest deciduous trees, in the second growth of 
hardwood on the hills, and in the thickets along the 
creeks. A few days of rainy weather during the last of 
August and first of September brings the shore birds and 
waders ; then the lover of these gamey fowls will find them 
