OSCAR BIRD WARREN. 87 



the characteristics of avian life. During migration a sudden 

 change of weather is sure to bring a bird-flight, and if the 

 observer is in the field early, perhaps he may be able to note 

 an especially rare specimen, which otherwise would have been 

 lost to him. 



This spring a radical change in barometric conditions, fol- 

 lowed by a heavy fall of snow on the 25th of Ma}', stopped 

 the hosts of migrants and produced an unusually large bird- 

 wave. How surprised they looked to be met by such a wel- 

 come ! How cold and uncomfortable they seemed ! Some, 

 however, rather enjoyed it. The Juncos chirped pleasantly, 

 the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks whistled merrily, and the 

 White-throated Sparrows sang their sweetest. But the poor 

 little Warblers were affected differently ; being wholly un- 

 prepared for such cold treatment, and without food, numbers 

 perished in the snow. The early Myrtle, the Palm, the 

 Black-and-white Creeping, the Nashville, and other Warblers 

 were found dead during the storm. The Redstarts fared 

 the worst, and many a bright bird which in summer would 

 have enlivened our northern forests by its spirited songs was 

 buried in an icy grave. 



Of all bird pictures seen during this storm the most beauti- 

 ful for contrast of colors — a background of green hazels, in 

 the distance dark pines and hemlocks, above a humid sky, 

 and in the foreground a Tanager perched on the projecting 

 point of a buried stub, appearing like a great drop of blood 

 upon the spotless snow. 



In the spring migrations birds are most plentiful on the 

 sunny side of the evergreen woods and groves, along the 

 hedgerows, or among the shrubbery near human habita- 

 tions ; while in the fall migrations they are also found 

 in highest deciduous trees, in the second growth of 

 hardwood on the hills, and in the thickets along the 

 creeks. A few days of rainy weather during the last of 

 August and first of September brings the shore birds and 

 waders ; then the lover of these gamey fowls will find them 



