YELLOW-imKASTKD CHAT. 121 



Spring migration. — The chats are late spriiio- mio-rants. They have 

 not been noted in March anywliere in the United States, except extreme 

 southern Texas. The earliest spring arrivals noted in the eastern part 

 of the United States were at Frogmore, S. C, and ranged from April 

 7, 1885, and April 9, 1889, to April 19, 1887, April 25, 1881, April 29, 

 1888, and May 1, 1886. The average date of arrival at Frogmore is 

 probal)ly about April 12. The average date of arrival of the chat in 

 seven years' time at Kirkwood, Ga., is April 22, with variations from 

 April 16, 1891, to April 26, 1901. At Raleigh, N. C, the average date 

 for ten 3^ears is April 23, with extremes of April 18, 1888, and April 

 27, 1893. This is one of the most uniform of all the records of 

 spring arrival of birds at Raleigh. It indicates not only slight varia- 

 tions in the movements of the birds, but also great care and thorough- 

 ness on the part of the observer. A few miles west of Raleigh, but 

 still on the plains, the average date of arrival for four years is April 

 22. In the mountains at Asheville, at 2,000 feet altitude, the aver- 

 age for live years is April 25, with the slight -extremes of April 

 21, 1891, and April 29, 1891. The average at Variety Mills, Va. 

 (fifteen years), is April 29; Frenchcreek, W. Ya., and Washington, 

 May 1; Waynesburg, Pa., April 28; Beaver, Pa., May 2; Philadel- 

 phia, May 8; Englewood and New Providence, N. J., and in south- 

 eastern New York, May 9; in central Connecticut, May 13; in eastern 

 Massachusetts, May 11. An extensive series of notes comes from the 

 Mississippi Yalley. The average date of arrival at St. Louis (for 

 seven years) is April 21; at Brookville, Ind., April 29; Columbus, 

 Ohio, May 3; Ganges, Mich., Ma}^ 1; Keokuk, Iowa, May 3; Iowa 

 City, Iowa, May 5. South of St. Louis the dates are quite early as 

 compared with the records just given. The average for ten years at 

 Eubank, Ky., is April 23; for four years at Helena, Ark., April 20, 

 and for four years in the vicinity of Yicksburg, Miss., April 18. To 

 agree with the foregoing dates the time of arrival of the chat at New 

 Orleans should be not later than April 16, and several days earlier 

 would be a more likely date. The recorded dates are April 22, 1893, 

 April 20, 1895, April 13, 1899, April 23, 1901, and April 11, 1903. 

 Professor Beyer sa3^s of the spring arrival of the chat near New 

 Orleans: ''This species never occurs within our precincts before the 

 15th or 18th of April and is never common until about the end of that 

 month and sometimes not until the 1st or 2d of May." To get the full 

 significance of these dates it is necessary to compare them with the 

 dates of arrival of the chat in Texas and in Kansas — in other words, to 

 compare them with the rate of progress from Mexico northward. For 

 this reason the Texas dates are here given in full: Lower Rio Grande, 

 March 26 (Merrill); species becomes common April 8 (Sennett); Corpus 

 Christi, April 13, 1891, April 11, 1899; Refugio County, April 11, 

 1899; San Antonio, April 11, 1885, April 22, 1889, April 5, 1890, 



