4 Bird Migration in the Mississippi Valley. 



taken almost daily, and consisted, during the busiest time of the season, of 

 a six to eight-mile journey to the woods, starting at 4:30 a. m., and after sever- 

 al hours' actual work in the woods, returning at noon, or often late in the af- 

 ternoon. To these were added many evening excursions, and a constant 

 watch over the movements of such birds as could be found in the heart of the 

 city. A good field-glass was constantly in use, and the shotgun appealed 

 to if any doubt still remained. Having many years of previous study in the 

 same locality to draw upon, this last method was seldom required. It might 

 be added that the country is practically destitute of large bodies of pines, and 

 of any prairie_land, which may account for the strange absence of some birds 

 found in abundance at places not far distant. 



The other station, Jefferson, Wisconsin, is in the south-eastern part of 

 that state, midway between Milwaukee and Madison. It is a small town of 

 some 2,500 inhabitants, situated on both sides of the Rock River, just 

 north of its juncture with the Crawfish River. My house was situated on 

 the west bank of the Rock River, seventy feet above its surface and both my 

 yard and the yards on each side were plentifully supplied with hardwood 

 trees and several varieties of pines. A quarter of a mile's walk westward 

 brought me out of town into rather thinly settled country, with patches 

 of hardwood timber scattered quite frequently around. A half-mile more 

 brought me to the Crawfish River, there flowing southward, but soon bending 

 to the East, and joining the Rock River a half-mile south of my place. The 

 surface of the country for a mile and a half east and west is flat, constitut- 

 ing what is known as the RockRiver Valley. The higher ground farther west 

 was not visited, and all the notes are of the movements of the birds in the 

 valley. 



' Most of the notes were made on the banks of the Crawfish, at the south 

 end of town, where it was flowing east and west. There, within a radius 

 of a third of a mile, could be found hill and valley — on a small scale — heavy 

 first-growth timber, second-growth brush, marsh, prairie, and mud flats along 

 the river. And no matter which way the wind blew, sheltered spots could 

 always be found. North of town, two miles, at a place called Jefferson 

 Junction, is a large stretch of tamarac swamps, broken by higher land and 

 occasional groves of hardwood. Here bird-life was always found in greater 

 abundance than along the Crawfish, and the trips taken there every Satur- 

 day furnished much material for the note-book and the collecting-box. The 

 work of the season consisted in almost daily visits to the woods from 6 a. 

 m. to 8 a. m.. five days in the week, with a more extended trip and longer 

 time on Saturdays. Many tramps were also taken after school hours in the 

 the afternoon. On many of the cold days the birds were hardly thawed out 

 by 8 o'clock, but although science is good for recreation, bread and butter 

 must be earned, and the school-room demanded my time from 8:30 a. m. to 

 4 p. M. 



In the following notes the plan has been to give first the weather record 

 and the general notes from St. Louis, then the same from Jefferson, and 

 lastly the combined notes on each species separately. The nomenclature 

 used is the latest Smithsonian catalogue. 



