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Staten Island Association of Arts and Sciences 



The Christmas Bird Census for Staten Island, taken by Messrs. 

 H. K. Decker and H. H. Cleaves, and printed below, reveals several 

 facts of interest concerning our wild bird life in the present win- 

 ter. It would be expected that the low temperatures prevailing 

 throughout the greater part of December would have had the 

 effect of driving south any birds which are commonly only trans- 

 ients or summer residents here. Nevertheless it will be seen that 

 Flickers, Fish Crows, Sharp-tailed and White-throated Sparrows, 

 Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Robins were noted in varying numbers. 



The presence of these birds at this season is to be accounted 

 for by the fact that the snow-fall has been light and as a result the 

 sources of food supply have not been cut off. It is well known that 

 birds suffer more from lack of food than from exposure to cold. 

 A good example of this is the Myrtle Warbler, belonging to a tribe 

 of delicate, insect-eating birds. Eut because the Myrtle Warbler is 

 able to change its food habits when the irsects are no longer avail- 

 able and subsist en the fruit of the bay bushes, we find this bird 

 here in the coldest of winters when the crop of bayberries is heavy. 



It is pleasant to find that Chickadees are with us in some num- 

 bers, inasmuch as a scarcity of these birds has been reported from 

 adjacent territory in New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut. 



The Red-headed Woodpecker, Pine Siskin, Snow Bunting, Ips- 

 wich Sparrow and Northern Shrike deserve special notice— the 

 first named because this woodpecker is unusual anywhere in the 

 territory northeast of the Alleghany Mountains, especially at this 

 season ; and the last four because they are species which come 

 from the north at irregular intervals, the Snow Bunting not hav- 

 ing been seen on Staten Island for about seven winters. 



Following is the detailed census, together with a memo- 

 randum of the conditions under which it was made : 



Territory : West New Brighton to Egbertville to New Dorp to 

 Great Kills ; Princes Bay to Tottenville to Great Kills ; Great Kills 

 to South Beach. The census takers worked separately except be- 

 tween the last two localities. Date : December 27, 1914. Time : 

 7 a. m. to 5:10 p. m. Sky : Intermittently cloudy ; clearing toward 

 late afternoon. Ground : Covered slightly but evenly with snow, 

 and frozen. Wind : Light N. W., falling at times to dead calm. 

 Temperature : 9 F. at start, rising to 26 F. in afternoon. Herring 

 Gull. 618; Red-breasted Merganser, 2 ; Greater Scaup Duck, 115; 

 Goldeneye, 35 ; Buffiehead, 37 ; Red-shouldered Hawk, 3 ; Sparrow 

 Hawk, 2 ; Screech Owl, 4 ; Hairy Woodpecker, 2 ; Downy Wood- 

 pecker, 39 ; Red-headed Woodpecker, 1 ; Northern Flicker, 9 ; Blue 

 Jay, 42 ; Crow, 151 ; Fish Crow, 2 ; Starling, 471 ; Meadowlark, 67 ; 

 Goldfinch, 12; Pine Siskin, 18; Snow Bunting, 1 ; Ipswich Sparrow, 

 2 ; Sharp-tailed Sparrow, 1 ; White-throated Sparrow, 2 ; Tree 

 Sparrow, 244 ; Junco, 86; Song Sparrow, 44; Cardinal, 11 ; North- 

 ern Shrike. 1 ; Myrtle Warbler, 12 ; Brown Creeper, 1 ; White- 

 breasted Nuthatch, 10 ; Tufted Titmouse, 9 ; Chickadee, 47 ; 

 Golden-crowned Kinglet, 10; Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 7; Robin, 

 2. Total, 36 species, 2120 individuals. 



