38 BULLETIN No. 33. 



aboard train and then onh^ while the remaining 168 were 

 approached closely enough to make identification certain, or 

 were captured. Among these 18 there are none about which 

 there can be any reasonable doubt. Either the region in 

 which they were seen made a mistake out of the question, or 

 else their characters were unmistakable, usuall)- both. Taken 

 all in all it was a most enjoyable and satisfactory horizon, with 

 Pasadena the brightest spot. To one who knows onl}' the re- 

 gion east of the Great Plains the mountain fauna is pretty sure 

 to be disappointing, even after repeated and urgent warnings 

 from those who know.. Unknown conditions make an under- 

 standing of these warnings impossible. But the scenic gran- 

 deur and beauty of the mountains more than compensate for 

 the paucity of bird life. I am bound to say, however, that in 

 my opinion the bird life would not seem so little were it less 

 difficult to follow the moving companies. It is like an Ohio 

 winter woods, where one unacquainted with the habits of the 

 birds may roam the woods for hours without so much as hear- 

 ing one bird, simply because he does not happen to come upon 

 one of the roving companies. So on the mountain side one 

 has to choose his way with great care ; he must wait for the 

 birds to come to him, for he cannot go to them. But the birds 

 one sees upon the mountain tops are among the most interest- 

 ing to be found anywhere. In the wooded vallej^s and canons 

 there is no lack of individuals. The greatest difficulty here, 

 on the west side of the Cascades, is the stupendous height of 

 the trees and the impenetrable tangle of the underbrush. 



There can be but one thing better than this reconnois- 

 sance, and that is another similar one. 



Lynds Jones, Oberlin, Ohio. 



