MICHIGAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 75 



along the river there was a narrow margin of dead trees which were much 

 larger than these. The majority were white ash, and many had attained a 

 diameter of from one to two feet. There was another burned strip along 

 the hardwood forest which will be described under that head. The her- 

 baceous plants and the underbrush were practically all consumed. 



As stated above, there were burned cedar and tamarack swamps in the 

 pine lands, and these fall under this head because they were burned. The 

 fire swept them clean of all living vegetation, but left a tangle of charred 

 logs strewn among the blackened stumps. These places were very difficult 

 to work as they were frequently wet in addition to the confusion of logs 

 left by the fire. There was on the whole little bird life in them, the two 

 species most frequently noted being the white-throated sparrow and the 

 house wren. These swamps had usually recuperated little from the fire, 

 but the bareness of the pine land was softened by large areas of fireweed, 

 Canada thistles and a few other flowering plants, while in some places even a 

 scanty growth of grass covered the soil. 



A third division of the burned lands was the narrow strip of large trees 

 along the river, referred to before. As stated, these trees were largely 

 white ash, a growth that lay just beyond the alder and willow thickets that 

 margined the river. Most of the trees were standing, though they were 

 soft and punky from decay. These trees formed excellent nesting sites for 

 all those species of birds that nest in hollows in trees, and woodpeckers, 

 tree swallows and blue birds were characteristic of the area. The pileated 

 woodpecker was a notable exception to this rule, for it remained in the 

 hardwood forest. 



£. The Hardwood Forest — The hardwood forest was the second large 

 habitat studied. It was found on the undulating area of morainal material 

 which lies between the two branches of the Sturgeon River and just north 

 of Brown Lake. The principal trees were maples, elms, basswoods, hem- 

 locks, and yellow birch. The fire did little damage to the forest, killing 

 only a narrow strip of trees along its margin, though a more or less thorough 

 ground burn penetrated farther. The unburned edge of the forest was 

 plentifully supplied with bird life, while the farther one entered the fewer 

 species and individuals were found. At the edge towhees, seven species of 

 warblers, chickadees, chipping sparrows and other species were numerous, 

 but deeper in only an occasional black and white warbler, wood pewee or 

 red-eyed vireo were noted. 



3. The Unhurned Ash and Alder Thickets— The unburned ash and alder 

 thickets along the streams were a most important factor in the local distri- 

 bution of the bird life. As they afforded the most favorable feeding grounds 

 for considerable distances, a notable amount of bird life was there concen- 

 trated. This fact was true both during the breeding season and during 

 the small amount of migration that took place while the field work was in 

 progress. These thickets were composed of ash trees, a few poplars and 

 elms with a more or less dense undergrowth of alders and willows. An 

 average width for the habitat would be about fifty yards. The beaver 

 meadows and their margins fell naturally into this habitat. 



4. The Unburned Spruce, Cedar and Tamarack Swamps— The unburned 

 spruce, cedar and tamarack swamps were, in general, little inhabited by 

 birds. These swamps had a considerable area, and were uniformly covered 

 with a dense growth of trees. The few open spaces that occurred were in 

 most instances covered with a dense growth of blueberry bushes. The 

 most of the bird hfe noted in this habitat was along old lumber roads that 



