Current Literature. 73 



The Jack Pine Plains lie in general within the pine region out- 

 lined above, and they are the more sterile soils farther from the 

 streams. They are characterized by an abundance of Jack Pine, 

 several scrub oaks, aspens, pin cherry and service-berry. The 

 undergrowth is chiefly composed of sweet fern, wintergreen, 

 bracken fern and various blue berries. Areas of this descrip- 

 tion cover about two million acres in the State, and their sum- 

 mer bird life is characterized by the vesper sparrow, chipping 

 sparrow, field sparrow, robin, bluebird, night hawk, kingbird, 

 blown thrasher, catbird, bluejay. red-eyed vireo, indigo bird, 

 sparrow hawk, goldfinch and cowbird. 



The Hardwood Forest Region in the upper half of the lower 

 peninsula still includes many hundreds of thousands of acres 

 where there is a heavy growth of beech and maple, with which 

 is intermixed birch, basswood, hemlock and scattering White 

 Pine. Among the more characteristic birds of this region in 

 order of abundance are : Hairy and downy woodpeckers, wood 

 pewee, hermit and wood thrushes, solitary vireo, sapsucker, 

 crow, rose-breasted grosbeak, scarlet tanager, oven-bird, broad- 

 winged and cooper's hawk. 



Burnt-over lands, of which there are millions of acres in the 

 State, VBiVy much in their bird life according to the nature of 

 the original forest, whether largely pine or hardwood, and espe- 

 cially the length of time which has elapsed since burning. One 

 may travel for hours through the more desolate regions and see 

 but few birds, the most common being the vesper sparrow, field 

 sparrow, chewink, nighthawk, kingbird and cowbird. 



The deep woods, whether swamp or upland, never shelter the 

 wealth of bird life found in partly cleared or well cultivated dis- 

 tricts. Stream borders, lake margins or other openings of the 

 forest always teem with bird and insect life, for here a greater 

 variety of conditions is found and larger numbers of birds seek 

 the sunlight and shade, the food supply and shelter which in- 

 sure, so far as wild nature can, the welfare of their young. 



The greater part of the volume is concerned with technical 

 descriptions, habits and distribution of the Michigan birds. 



C. D. H. 



