Birds and Seasons 183 welcome visitors. Occasionally there comes a winter when some- thing impels the northern wanderers, the Crossbills, Redpolls, and Pine Grosbeaks to move southward in force. These unfamiliar vis- itors lend to winter a touch of the excitement which characterizes the time of migration. There are strange notes in the air and flocks of bright colored birds with an engaging mixture of restlessness and confidence ; the lean and barren season now becomes a time of plenty. PERMANENT RESIDENTS Bob-White,* Ruffed Grouse, Red-shouldered Hawk (many other Hawks are now and then met with in winter), Screech Owl (all the Owls are resident, but this species is commonest near man), Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Flicker,* Blue Jay, Crow, Meadowlark,* Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Song Sparrow,* White-breasted Nut- hatch, Chickadee. Note. — Individuals of a few other hardy species often winter in favorable localities, e. g., Swamp Sparrow, Kingfisher. WINTER VISITANTS Regular. — Herring Gull f (the common harbor Gull; several other species occur off shore). Golden-eye f (the common harbor Duck; many other Ducks, as well as Grebes and Loons occur off shore). Shore Larkf (regular only on the beaches), Snow- fiakef (occasionally occurs inland). Tree Sparrow, Juncos, Northern Shrike, Myrtle Warbler, f Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned Kinglet. Irregular. — Pine Grosbeak, Purple Finch, White-winged Crossbill, American Crossbill, Pine Finch, Redpoll, Cedar Waxwing, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Robin (there is often an influx of Robins and Cedar Waxwings in midwinter). Note. — Individuals of a few other species often winter in favorable localities, e. g., White-throated Sparrow, Winter Wren. DECEMBER AND JANUARY BIRD-LIFE NEAR NEW YORK CITY By Frank M. Chapm.^n Although during the winter our bird population is reduced to the minimum, the comparative advantages of ornithology as a field study are then more evident than at any other season. The entomologist has hung up his net, the botanist laid aside his vasculum, but the ornithologist, putting opera glass in pocket, takes the field with the certainty of meeting some feathered friend, and the always encour- aging possibility of forming a new acquaintance. Winter begins when frost seals the ground, the ponds and streams, and snow covers the earth. Then the Woodcock, Mourning Dove, Kingfisher, Rusty Blackbird, Cowbird, and the 'esper, Field, Chip- ping and Swamp Sparrows go further south and we are left wath only the hardy, permanent residents and winter visitants. From the date of the departure of these tardy migrants until, late in February,
- Occurs regularly in winter only near the coast,
t Occurs regularly only near the coast.
