ACQ Williams, Birds of Leon County, Fla. \_()^z.\ 



Leon County is one of the northern tier of counties, bounded 

 on the north by Georgia. It occupies almost a central position 

 between the eastern and western extremities of the State. 



Tallahassee, the county seat and capital of the State, lies almost 

 midway between Jacksonville and Pensacola, being 165 miles 

 west of the former and 210 miles east of the latter. Forty miles 

 south lies the Gulf of Mexico. 



We generally have an abundance of rain at all seasons. A 

 drought of about a month's duration may occur at any season. 

 A few sporadic days in winter are apt to be severe, but are 

 soon followed by springlike, balmy weather. 



The northern half of the county is fertile and rolling, everywhere 

 dotted with sheets of water of varying size, from Lake Jackson, 

 12 miles long, to the smallest mud holes. Innumerable streams 

 dissect the county. The lakes and larger ponds provide suitable 

 haunts for large numbers of water-fowl and their marshes are feed- 

 ing grounds for several species, notably the Snipe {GaHinago) . 



The southern half is fiat, sandy, and sterile. Cypress swamps 

 occur throughout this region, furnishing favorite nesting places 

 for Herons and Anhingas. 



The vegetation is varied. That of the northern half of the 

 county is rich in variety and luxuriance, presenting some of the 

 most beautiful scenery in the South. 



Oaks of several species, draped with Spanish moss, hickories, 

 sweet gums, magnolias, and pines of the more attractive sort, 

 constitute the forest trees, and everywhere interspersed among 

 these are found the dogwood, sassafras and holly, aside from the 

 plethora of minor shrubbery. That of the southern half is very 

 different, the characteristic trees being the ever present pine and 

 a species of scrub oak we call black-jack, just such vegetation as 

 one would expect to find in such soil. Everywhere throughout 

 these great pineries will be found the palmetto in great abundance. 

 All this interminable monotony is, however, now and then relieved 

 by the appearance of a small tract of fairly fertile soil, supporting 

 a vegetation characteristic of the northern part of the county. An 

 occasional pond is met with, around which will be found clusters 

 of sweet gums and water oaks. As might be expected from the 

 foregoing, the greatest abundance of bird life occurs in the north- 

 ern half of the county. 



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