70 



NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



The Snake River plain with sage- 

 brush among which grasses grow up in 

 spring and with local areas of grass, 

 is included here. 



The mammals originally included 

 bison, pronghorn antelope, badger 

 {Taxidea taxus subspp.), ground-squir- 

 rels {Citellus spp.), black-tailed jack- 

 rabbit {Lepus californicus group), 

 pocket-mouse (Perognathus), and kan- 

 garoo-rat {Dipodomys). 



Breeding birds include the following: 

 sage hen, western mourning dove, turkey 

 vulture, marsh hawk, Swainson's hawk, 

 ferruginous rough-leg, prairie falcon, 

 desert sparrow hawk, short-eared owl, 

 MacFarlane's screech owl, burrowing 

 owl, California cuckoo, Sierra wood- 

 pecker, Batchelder's woodpecker, red- 

 shafted flicker, poor-will, western night- 

 hawk, black-chinned hummingbird, 

 broad-tailed hummingbird, kingbird, 

 Arkansas kingbird. Say's phoebe, west- 

 ern wood pewee, western flycatcher, 

 desert horned lark, magpie, Woodhouse's 

 jay, western crow, cowbird, western 

 meadowlark, Bullock's oriole. Brewer's 

 blackbird, house finch, green-backed 

 goldfinch, western vesper sparrow, Ne- 

 vada savanna sparrow, western grass- 

 hopper sparrow, western lark sparrow, 

 western chipping sparrow, Brewer's 

 sparrow, desert sparrow, sage sparrow, 

 Merill's song sparrow, spurred towhee, 

 black-headed grosbeak, lazuli bunting, 

 purple martin, cliff swallow, barn 

 swallow, California shrike, yellow war- 

 bler, long-tailed chat, and sage thrasher. 



Breeding birds preferring a moist 

 habitat, generally near a stream or 

 swamp, include the following: raven, 

 bobolink, northern violet-green swallow, 

 bank swallow, western yellow-throat, 

 and tule wren. 



11. EXTREME DESERT (CALIFORNIA MI- 

 CROPHYLL DESERT, SHREVE) (tHE 

 WESTERN DESERT SCRUB IN PART, 

 CLEMENTS) 



"An extremely low and open stand of 

 microphyllous (small-leafed) shrubs, 

 chiefly evergreen but partly deciduous; 

 very poor in grasses and in succulent 



plants. The dominant plants are creo- 

 sote bush {Covillea tridentata) , and sand 

 bur {Franseria dumosa)." 



Mammals, small burrowing forms and 

 diurnal reptiles are present. 



For list of mammals see account of 

 Mexico (Sonoran District) page 592. 



Breeding birds^ include the following: 

 Gambel's quail, western mourning dove, 

 desert sparrow hawk, prairie falcon, 

 road-runner, Texas woodpecker, Gila 

 woodpecker, poor-will, western night- 

 hawk, Texas nighthawk, Costa hum- 

 mingbird, Say's phoebe, vermilion fly- 

 catcher, Sonora horned lark, western 

 raven, Sonora red-winged blackbird, 

 western meadowlark, Scott's oriole, 

 California purple finch, black-throated 

 sparrow, desert song sparrow, Abert's 

 towhee, western blue grosbeak, phaino- 

 pepla, white-rumped shrike, least vireo, 

 Lucy's warbler, western mockingbird, 

 Bendire's thrasher, Leconte's thrasher, 

 crissal thrasher, cactus wren, rock wren, 

 verdin, and plumbeous gnatcatcher. 



12. SAGEBRUSH DESERT BIOTA (GREAT 

 BASIN MICROPHYLL DESERT, SHREVE) 

 (the SAGEBRUSH CLIMAX, AND IN- 

 CLUDES THE BASIN SAGEBRUSH AND 

 POSSIBLY THE COASTAL SAGEBRUSH, 

 CLEMENTS) 



(The northern portion is classed under 

 ^ 10 on account of desert grassland 

 animals present.) 



"An open stand of shrubs, sometimes 

 nearly closed; varying from place to 

 place in stature; usually poor in grasses 

 and succulents. The dominant plant 

 is sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), 

 locally accompanied by other forms." 



Among characteristic mammals are 

 the pronghorn antelope {Antilocapra 

 americana), black-tailed jackrabbit (Le- 

 pus calif orn'cus subspp.), pygmy rabbit 

 (Brachylagus idahoensis) , cottontail rab- 

 bits (Sylvilagus spp.), ground-squirrels 



' Aquatic birds have been omitted from the desert 

 list because of the extreme scarcity of their habitat 

 in such regions. Many of these birds do not nest 

 on the ground but in the thinly forested areas along 

 streams, in canyons, among the rocks, in mesquite 

 or cacti. No effort is made to distinguish ground 

 nesting birds from others. 



