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little, and most of the birds deserted their thick winter cover ts, ap- 

 pearing in town and on the prairie, while all the songsters burst forth 

 in full spring melody. Blackbirds, both Bed-winged and Oowbirds, 

 increased decidedly ; grass started everywhere, and one wild flower 

 was found. 



Directly east of Saint Louis the wave can be traced to Odin, 111. (lat. 

 38° 39'), where the atmosphere was warm from January 27 to February 

 4. The snow had all gone, and Geese appeared January 31, followed by 

 Ducks February 2. West of Saint Louis the migration of Bluebirds 

 was observed at Mount Carmel, Mo. (lat. 38° 45'), and of Robins and 

 Geese at Glasgow, Mo. (lat. 39° 14'). 



Above are the limits of this wave, which, although of great extent to 

 the south, east, and west of Saint Louis, proceeded no farther north. 

 A study of the Signal Service report shows the reason for this. Al- 

 though the warm wave was felt for several hundred miles north of Saint 

 Louis, yet its power was not sufficient to produce any marked thaw or 

 breaking up of the streams. Indeed, even in the latitude of Saint 

 Louis, no marked effect was observed, except in the lowlands. Stations 

 in the vicinity of Saint Louis, and only 30 or 40 miles farther north, did 

 not feel its influence. And the same is true in the West. In Kansas 

 there was no movement of birds. At Manhattan (lat. 39° 12'), though 

 in the same latitude, there was no migration, and the Signal Service 

 reports show that the nights were cold, and winter reigned until a month 

 later. An apparently accidental movement was reported from Unadilla, 

 Kebr. (lat. 40° 53', F. C. Kenyon), where Geese arrived January 31, and 

 Ducks February 2 ; but it is possible that these birds were driven back 

 from the north, as both Ducks and Geese had been reported January 11 

 from Yermillion, Dak. (lat. 42° 56') — a locality where they had never 

 before been seen in winter. A single record of Bobins and Bluebirds 

 came from Oarlinville, 111. (lat. 39° 19'), February 2, with the statement 

 that no others were seen for two weeks (Chas. W. Bobertson). 



Second wave. — The second wave began at Saint Louis during the 

 night of February 18, and was cut short on the 19th at 11.30 a. m. by 

 a fierce snow-storm from the northwest. On the 18th, in the afternoon, 

 the temperature rose rapidly with a good breeze from the southeast 

 which moderated in the evening, but the temperature remained at 50° 

 all night. The sky was clear in the evening, but cloudy in the morning. 

 This wave brought more Bobins, Bluebirds, and Purple Finches; many 

 Mallards, Sprigtails, Green-winged Teal, and Canada Geese; it took 

 off about half the Tree Sparrows (Spizella monticola), and brought the 

 first migrants of the Goldfinch [Spinus tristis), White-crowned and 

 White-throated Sparrows (ZonotricMa leucophrys and albicollis), Field 

 Sparrows {Spizella pusilla), Song Sparrows (Melospizafasciata), Swamp 

 Sparrows (Melospiza palustris), Fox Sparrows (Passerella iliaca), and 

 Chewinks (Pipilo erythrophthalmus). It appears to have been a local 

 wave. No other stations reported any movement whatever on those 



