Reports of Field Agents 



417 



REPORT OF WILLIAM L. FINLEY, FIELD AGENT FOR 

 THE PACIFIC COAST STATES 



URING the early part of 

 May, in company of R. 

 B. Horsfall and Stanley 

 Jewett, I inspected the 

 bird colonies on Klamath 

 Lake Reservation and 

 spent four days getting 

 moving-pictures of Sage Grouse during the strutting 

 season. We discovered a place at the lower end of 

 the lake where the Sage Cocks were accustomed to 

 come very early in the morning and late in the 

 afternoon to perform their interesting dance. This 

 place was an open wash of 10 to 12 acres between 

 the sagebrush and the edge of the lake. 



By building a sagebrush blind and entering with 

 the moving-picture camera before daylight, we 

 succeeded in getting good pictures of the perfor- 

 mances of these birds. During the spring season, 

 while the females are on the nest, it is the custom 

 of the males to come in for miles around to an open 

 place that might be called an outdoor dance-hall. 

 At first the birds were very wary about coming 

 anywhere near the blind, but after the third day 

 they became accustomed to it, and we had one bird 

 as near as 25 feet from the camera. These pictures 

 furnish a very important record of the life history 

 of this rapidly disappearing bird. 



Field-work has been carried on during the past 

 year in conjunction with Stanley Jewett of the 

 Biological Survey with the idea of completing a 

 cooperative state and federal report on the birds 

 and animals of Oregon. 



During the months of June and July an exten- 

 sive trip was made throughout eastern Oregon. 

 Nearly a month was spent in the Malheur Lake 

 country and in the Steins Mountains to the south. 

 Far out in the wide, sagebrush country, about 50 

 miles from the nearest town, we came to an old 

 deserted homesteader's cabin. From a general view 

 of the surroundings, this was the last place in the 



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FINLEY'S FLICKERS. 



