136 



latitude 44° 30', May 14. West of the Mississippi the record began at 

 Eeeds, Mo., latitude 37° 08', April 8, and was carried on by arrivals at 

 latitude 3S° 45' in Missouri, and latitude 39° 12' in Kansas, April 17 ; 

 at latitude 41° 14' in Iowa, April 23 ; latitude 41° 38' in Iowa, April 25 } 

 latitude 44° 47' in Minnesota, May 2; and May 3, at latitude 45° 05' and 

 45° 2b' in Minnesota. May 10, it was reported at Frazee City, Minn., 

 (latitude 46° 33'), by Miss Gertrude M. Lewis; and another early date 

 came from Oak Point, Manitoba (latitude 50° 30'), where it was seen 

 May 8, by Mr. A. T. Small. The records on this species cover a stretch 

 of country about 1,400 miles in length, and the average rate of migra- 

 tion (whether taken from the records east or from those west of the 

 Mississippi Eiver) is twenty miles a day. The rarity of the Whippoor- 

 will over the region of the Great Plains is seen from the fact that not a 

 single record was received from Nebraska or Dakota. 



In the fall of 1884 the last Whippoorwill was seen at Elk Eiver, 

 Minn., September 23 ; at Lanesboro, Minn., September 22 ; and at 

 Grinnell, Iowa, October 10. 



The notes on this species for the spring of 1885 can be arranged with 

 ease, since nearly all of them belong to one wave. The first records 

 were: Mason, Tex., March 27; Gainesville, Tex., April G; Eeeds, Mo., 

 April 12. The wonderful warm wave which occurred in the Mississippi 

 Valley from April 19 to 24 induced the Whippoorwill to migrate over 

 an immense stretch of country. Duriug these days it was noted from 

 Mount Carmel, Mo.; Peoria, Aledo, and Chicago, 111. ; Morning Sun, 

 Ferry, Coral ville, Iowa City, Newton, Grinnell, Ames, La Porte City, 

 Williarustown, and Waukon, Iowa; Leeds Centre, Durand, Eiver Falls, 

 New Eichmond, and Luck, Wis.; and Elk Eiver, Minn. After such an 

 extraordinary wave as the above it is natural that further advance 

 would be long delayed, and no report came from any station north of 

 Elk Eiver, Minn., until the extreme limit of the northern range was 

 reached, at Oak Point, Manitoba, May 12. It was noticed in 1884 that 

 the Whippoorwill was not reported from Nebraska and Dakota. In 

 1885 no reports come from these States nor from Kansas. In the fall 

 of 1885 the last was seen at Mount Carmel, Mo., September 20. 



418. Phalaenoptilus nuttalli (And.). [355.] Poor-ivill. 



The scarcity of the preceding species on the Plains has been men- 

 tioned. Its place there is taken by the present species, which is a rather 

 common summer resident in Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, and Dakota, pass- 

 ing eastward, even to Grinnell, Iowa, where an accidental visitant was 

 taken in 1880. In southeastern Dakota Dr. Agersborg recorded it as 

 common, but gave no date for its arrival. In the spring of 1884 it was 

 seen at Mason, Texas, April 8, and at Manhattan, Kans., May G. It 

 proceeds north to about latitude 48°, and winters near our southern 

 border. 



In the spring of 1885 the first Poor-will was noted at San Angelo, 

 Tex., March 2G. It arrived at Manhattan, Kans., April 15, but the 



