282 



THE CANADIAN SPORTSMAN AND NATURALIST. 



dents have not as yet been named may address 

 the Chairman. 



It is the duty of each Superintendent to 

 exert himself to the utmost to increase the 

 number of observers in his District ; to answer 

 the questions they may put to him concerning 

 the details of the work, etc : to collect at 

 frequent intervals the product of their labors ; 

 to ascertain from these data the whereabouts 

 of certain species in winter, and the times of 

 leaving their winter homes; to determine if 

 possible the number and extent of the chief 

 avenues of migration within the limits of his 

 District, and the average of speed at which the 

 different species travel ; to locate the breeding 

 areas of the summer residents; and, finally, to 

 submit the result of the season's work to the 

 Chairman of the Committee. The Chairman 

 shall, in turn, arrange, condense, and sys- 

 tematize the material received from Super- 

 intendents of the several Districts, and shall 

 present to the Union the fruits of the joint 

 labors of all the collaborators, together with 

 any comments, deductions or generalizations 

 he may have made upon the same. 



Instructions to Collaborators. — The data 

 collected may conveniently be ananged in 

 three general classes : a. Ornithological Phe- 

 nomena, b. Meteorological Phenomena, c. 

 Contemporary and Correlative Phenomena. 



(a) Ornithological Phenomena. 



Each observer is requested to prepare, at his 

 earliest convenience, a complete list of the 

 birds known to occur in the vicinity of his 

 Station, and to indicate (by the abbreviations 

 enclosed in parentheses) to which of the foi- 

 lowing five categories each species pertains : — 

 1. Permanent Residents, or those that are found 

 regularly throughout the entire year (R) 2. 

 Winter Visitants, or those that occur only 

 during the winter season, passing north in 

 the spring (WV). 8. Transient Visitants, or 

 those that occur only during the migrations, 

 in spring and fall (TV). 4. Summer Residents, 

 or those that are known to breed, but which 

 depart southward before winter (SR). 5. 

 Accidental Visitants, or stragglers from remote 

 districts (AV). 



It is also desirable to indicate the relative 

 abundance of the different species,' the terms 

 to be employed for this purpose being ■ 

 Abundant, Common, Tolerably Common, Rare. 



In many species the males arrive in advance 

 of the females, hence it is important to note 

 the sex of the first comers, and the date at 

 which the opposite sex is first seen. 



In recording 'arrivals and'tdepartures^it is 

 highly important to distinguish between the 

 movements of the great bulk of the species 

 and those of the forerunners or advance guard. 

 For this purpose two dates should be recorded 

 for the incoming, and two for the outgoing of 

 every nonresident species, as follows: — I. 

 The first appearance of the species (F). 2. 

 The arrival of the bulk (BA). 3. The depar- 

 ture of the bulk (BD). 4. The last individual 

 seen (L). 



In addition to the above, which may be 

 regarded as essential data, there are many other 

 noteworthy details that bear more or less 

 directly upon the complicated problems in- 

 volved in the study of migration. Among such 

 may be mentioned the bodily condition of the 

 bird (whether fat or lean), the moult and the 

 periods of song. y.The time of mating, when 

 observed, should always be recorded. 



(b) Meteorological Phenomena. 



Extended meteorological data are not re- 

 quired, though the observer would derive 

 material assistance from a systematic weather 

 record. The Committee desires information 

 upon:— 1. The dirction and force of the wind. 

 2. The direction, character and duration of 

 stoims. 3. The general conditions of the 

 atmosphere, including rainfall. 4. The succes- 

 sion of marked warm and cold waves, includ- 

 ing a record of all sudden changes of tempe- 

 rature. 



(c) Contemporary and Correlative Phenomena. 



The Committee desires that the data under 

 this head be as full and complete as possible 

 and requests exact information upon : — 1. The 

 date at which the first toad is seen. 2. The 

 date at which the first frog is heard. 3. The 

 date at which the tree -toad or " peeper " is 

 heard. 4 The dates at which certain mammals 

 and reptiles enter upon an emerge from the 

 state of hivernation. 5. The dates at which 

 various insects are first seen. 6. The dates 

 of the flowering of various plants. 7. The 

 dates of the leafing and falling of the leaves 

 of various trees and shrubs. 8. The dates of 

 the breaking up and disappearance of the ice 

 in rivers and lakes in spring, and of the freez- 

 ing over of the same in the fall. 



C. Hart Merriam, 

 Chairman of Committee on Migration, 

 Locust Grove, Lewis County, 



New York. 



