How to Name the Birds 159
scheme which, while it apparently does not bring them into harmony with their surroundings, conforms with Thayer's law for the coloration of ani- mals, that is, darker above than below.
External Structure,—Chickadees and Nuthatches are so diFferent in structure that some authors place them in separate families, though they are not so treated in the ‘ Check-List’ of the American Ornithologists' Union The Chickadees have a short, stout bill, the nostrils being covered by bristly tufts as in the Crows and Jays; indeed, as many systematists have remarked, there are no structural characters other than size to distinguish the Chick- adees from the Jays. The tail is rather long and rounded, the outer primary being short, and the plumage loose and fluffy.
The Nuthatches agree with the Chickadees in having the outer primary short. but differ from them in having a short. square tail, long, slender hill, and much longer toes and toe-nails
Appearanw and Hakim—The climbing habit of Nuthatches is their distinguishing characteristic in life, and their elongated toes and toernails are doubtless of assistance to them in this connection, though the tail appar- ently here plays no part beyond being short enough not to interfere with their movements in either direction. The bill is used as a pick, but its length apparently renders it more serViceable in reaching into cracks and crevices.
With the Chickadees the stout hill is employed in excavating a nestingr hole and in hammering food held by the strong feet.
Sung—Though possessing a variety of notes, neither Chickadees nor Nuthatches can be considered songstets. The former, however, utter whistled calls which are often possessed of much sweetness.
The Migration of Warblers
Few subjects are of more interest to field students of birds than the migration of the host of Warblers which pass northward in the spring and southward in the fall. Coming from their far winter homes when the weather is comparatively settled, there is a certain regularity in their move- ments which makes a study of them unusually valuable. For both these reasons BIRD-LORI; proposes to devote tnuch attention during the coming year to the timesiof arrival and departure of Warblers in eastern North America, and in this undertaking it asks the cooperation of all its readers who have notes on the migration of Warblers. The notes should give (I) the place of observation; (2) the observer‘s name: (3) name of the species, followed by the data called for in the Biologic Survey h/Iigration Schedules, that is, (4) when was it first seen? and about how many were seen? (5) when did it become common? (6) when was it last seen? (7) is it common or rare? If you cannot reply to all these questions answer those you can and send your notes to the editor of BIRD-LURE any time during the next two months.
