Cambridge, Mass.
1902.
August
(No 2)
Garden Birds.
  The following birds have been noted in the Garden:-
  1. Merula migratoria. - Present daily in varying numbers feeding
chiefly on rum cherries, also running about on the lawn.
Adult birds heard singing feebly on the 6th 21st 24th and 26th.
One in full song for a few minutes on the evening of the 13th.
The roost in the lilacs behind the marsh has been frequented
regularly every night and by a considerably larger number of
birds than were present at any time earlier in the summer.
On the 1st, I counted 230; on the 13th, 520; on the 21st, 300.
The counts included only the birds which could be seen
entering the roost from the east, west and south; as the
greatest number seemed to come from the north and as
very liberal directions were made to allow for birds seen
more than once I have little doubt that the total number
has frequently expanded seven or eight hundred. A few birds 
begin to assemble in the Garden as early as 5 P.M. but the
greater number do not arrive until after sunset. The first
comers alight in the tops of the apple trees or visit the
pond for a bath; those that come after sunset spend but
little time before entering the roost and at the height of
the rush very many dash directly into it without pausing 
by the way. There is usually a period of five to eight or
ten minutes during which they pour in almost without
cessation & in such numbers that it is impossible to
count them accurately. During this time the tops of the
bushes are agitated as if by a strong wind and there
is a constant sound resembling that of heavy rain drops
pattering on the foliage. This is caused partly by the
fluttering of the birds' wings and partly by their bills which
they snap loudly & repeatedly, no doubt thrashing one another
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