V ° L 192? VH ] Wetmore, Birds of Lake Burford, N. Mex. 221 



OBSERVATIONS ON THE HABITS OF BIRDS AT LAKE 

 BURFORD, NEW MEXICO. 



BY ALEXANDER WETMORE. 



Plates VII-IX 



Introduction 



Lake Burford, the largest natural body of water found in New 

 Mexico, is situated in the Jicarilla (Apache) Indian Reservation in 

 the northwestern part of the state. This lake for many years was 

 known as Stinking Lake and is so shown on most maps, a name de- 

 rived from the Spanish appellation, of "La Laguna Grande Hedi- 

 onda" (so called from a spring of sulphur-tainted water near the 

 western side). Recently the lake has been given much prominence 

 as a possible breeding ground for water birds by various interested 

 agencies and it was decided that it would be fitting to give it a more 

 euphonious name. On May 3, 1918, therefore, by petition of the 

 Southwestern Geographic Society and the New Mexico Game 

 Protective association, it was rechristened Lake Burford, in honor 

 of the late Miles W. Burford of Silver City, New Mexico, a gentle- 

 man who had been prominent as a pioneer in promoting the cause 

 of game protection in the state. 



The work on which the following notes are based was carried on 

 in the interest of the Biological Survey, United States Department 

 of Agriculture, and covered the period from May 23 to June 19, 

 1918. Through the kindness of Mr. H. L. Hall and Mr. C. Mc- 

 Fadden of Chama, New Mexico, permission was received to occupy 

 an adobe cabin at the lake, belonging to the Chama Rod and Gun 

 Club, while Mr. P. G. Orell rendered aid in assembling needed 

 camp equipment. I reached Chama on the afternoon of May 22, 

 and left for Lake Burford at noon the following day after outfitting 

 for a month's work in the field. Jimmy Barnett of Chama accom- 

 panied me as assistant in camp. The trip to the lake, made in a 

 Ford auto truck, required four hours, a sufficient commentary on 

 the state of the mountain roads, as the distance travelled was only 

 about forty miles. Visits were made to a lumber camp at El Vado 

 for mail and supplies on May 31 and June 12, and we returned to 



