84 The Wilson Bulletin — No. 104 



SOME BIRDS ALONG THE TRAILS OF GLACIER 

 NATIONAL PARK. 



BY P. E. KRETZMANN. 



Every one of our national parks is, by virtue of its name, also 

 a refuge for the wild life of our country. And therefore, our 

 parks are becoming places, not only for recreation and pleas- 

 ure, where the stagnant air of smoky cities is replaced by the 

 ozonized odor of pines and illimitable mountain reaches, but 

 also for the most delightful study, under conditions which 

 are natural and therefore approaching the ideal. The geol- 

 ogist roams over the peaks and the botanist searches the hills 

 and valleys alike. But the one that makes use of all these 

 delights and finds friends wherever he goes, is the zoologist, 

 and especially the bird lover. 



The interest of bird study in Glacier Park is greatly en- 

 hanced by the great diversity of physiographic and climatic 

 conditions. The difference in elevation is remarkable, that 

 of Belton, in the southwest corner, being scarcely more than 

 3000 feet, while that of Mt. Cleveland, in the north-central 

 section, is more than 10,000 feet. There are beautiful wooded 

 lakes at low altitudes, as Lake McDonald and Lake St. 

 Marys, but some of them are set high up amidst the peaks 

 of the divide, as Iceberg Lake and Upper Two Medicine 

 Lake. In the McDonald country and on the 'slopes of the 

 eastern mountains there are dense forests. But then again 

 the naturalist finds extensive mountain meadows, gay with 

 thousands of brightly-colored flowers, with a luscious carpet 

 of thick grass. At times, creeks and brooks and streams 

 follow in uninterrupted succession, and then again, the path 

 leads for miles along dry mountain sides, with never a trace 

 of water. A large section of the Park lies in the Alpine life 

 zone, where snow storms may be expected any day in the 

 year. This is especially evident when one stands on Mt. 

 Jackson, on the heights of Swift Current Pass or even on the 

 Granite Park Plateau, and sees the endless succession of 

 peaks as far as the eye will reach. The Hudsonian zone is 

 marked plainly on the northern and northwestern side of the 



