I8S6.J Brewster oh the Birds of Western North Carolina. OC 



During the past season (1885) I was able to spend a short time 

 in this attractive field. Reaching Asheville May 23, and making 

 that town my base of operations, I first explored the neighboring 

 country, and then visited, in succession, Smather's, a station on 

 Hominy Creek in Buncombe County, Waynesville in Haywood 

 County, Webster in Jackson County, and Franklin and Highlands 

 in Macon County, returning by wav of Hamburg, East La Porte, 

 and Sylva in Jackson County. 



This journey took a week, and covered a distance of about one 

 hundred and fifty miles. At all the points just named more or 

 less time was spent collecting specimens and notes. But, ex- 

 cepting at Highlands, by fiir the most productive and satisfac- 

 tory work was done en route. Traveling in a light open wagon, 

 with a driver to look after the horses, I was perfectlv independent 

 and free at any time to jump out to pursue a bird or explore a 

 tempting bit of cover. Naturally the delays were numerous — so 

 numerous in fact that the entire dav was often spent in making a 

 distance of twenty or thirty miles. Thus I had abundant oppor- 

 tunities for field work at places not to be found on the map, 

 while the best hours for collecting were seldom wasted. In this 

 way, as I learned years ago, an extensive region may be explored 

 rapidly and perhaps, considering everything, to the very best 

 advantage. 



Returning to Asheville May 30. I spent another dav there, and 

 early on the morning of June i started for the Black Mountain 

 Range, getting a long afternoon for the ascent, camping that 

 night near the summit of the main ridge, and devoting most 

 of the following day to exploring the spruce and fir forests 

 above 5000 feet altitude. This expedition — a most interesting 

 and fruitful one — was the last that I was able to make, for on the 

 night of June 3 I set out for the North. Thus my entire stay 

 extended over a period of only twelve davs, and therefore was too 

 short to allow anything like a thorough investigation, or the 

 collecting of many specimens. But covering, as it did. the flood 

 tide of the breetiing season, when the birds were settled for the 

 summer and in fullest song and plumage, it was worth thrice 

 the time at any other period of the year. Moreover, while my 

 explorations were necessarily hurried and superficial, they extend- 

 ed over a large area and included every varietv of ground. Thus 

 it is probable that they furnished me with a fair knowledge of the 



