418 Bailey, Wild Life of an Alkaline Lake. [oct. 



heard the distress calls, which was about 100 feet from the nest, 

 and there went into hiding. At the time there were three adult 

 hermits together. After ten minutes silence, I began to hear occa- 

 sional faint little "peeps," which it was impossible to locate pre- 

 cisely. Presently, however, one of the little thrushes appeared 

 from hiding and began to hop along the ground and fallen logs and 

 to climb through the underbrush. Now and then the little fellow 

 would fly two or three feet, from twig to twig, all the while pumping 

 up and down his little cinnamon tail, so characteristic of all adult 

 Hermits, and giving voice to an occasional "peep" for food. 

 But when it received food from a parent, no sound was uttered 

 by the young bird, neither did the parents use the ivee note. 

 Though I made a search of the vicinity the following morning, 

 August 8, 1 could find no trace of the Hermit family. 



WILD LIFE OF AN ALKALINE LAKE. 



BY FLORENCE MERRIAM BAILEY. 



The few lakes of the arid region are peculiarly interesting as 

 they attract hordes of migrating water birds that pass over the 

 wide stretches of dry land, while affording nesting sites for many 

 resident water birds, and feeding grounds for both birds and 

 beasts of prey. A series of alkaline lakes in northern New Mexico 

 near the continental divide was once visited by us during a fall 

 migration and although we were unable to take a census of the 

 water-fowl gathered there we had a most interesting experience. 



The largest and most thickly populated of the lakes had been 

 named from a sulphur spring with frank, western realism — ■ 

 Stinking Spring Lakes. From long and bitter experience with 

 alkali we took warning from the name and stopped before reaching 

 them to fill our canteens and water keg at a spring of less noisome 

 reputation, where we found a like-minded Mexican boy with three 

 burros, filling his kegs for a sheep camp. 



The first lake on the road, reached just at sundown, suggested 



