1912 



'"J Bergtold, October Birds of the Gila River. 329 



The streams have carved the country into many rough hills 

 and mountains, and, too, have left much mesa land between their 

 canyons. The higher portions are well timbered with yellow pine 

 (old and young growth), white pine, red and white spruce, and 

 balsam fir, and with quaking aspen, the last especially in locations 

 which have been fire swept. Lower down, and over more dry 

 portions, there is a varyingly dense chaparral of juniper, pinon, 

 scrub oak, and in those parts approaching desiccation, one finds 

 mesquite, greasewood, and cactus. 



The altitudes vary from 4700 feet at the junction of Big Turkey 

 Creek and the Gila, to over 10,000 feet on Mogollon Mountain, 

 and Black Range, where there are points nearly as high as on 

 Mogollon. 



The area is thus, east, south, and west, bounded by mountains 

 of considerable height; the surface slopes rather gradually from 

 the centre of the area to the higher margins, a condition preventing 

 too rapid flow of precipitation to the lower levels, resulting in 

 good f orestation over a large portion of the country : Rixon ^ in his 

 report on the forest conditions of the then "Gila Forest Reserve" 

 (the area with which we are dealing forming nearly one third of this 

 reserve) states that only about twenty-six per cent, of it is natur- 

 ally timberless. 



The region in its general characteristics and conditions, lends 

 itself, as it were, to a variety of climates: in summer the lower 

 portions approach closely the climate of southern x\rizona, while 

 at the same time the higher parts are almost alpine in nature; 

 these two zones being separated by but a few miles, the area thereby 

 forms a region of unusual zoological interest. It is highly probable 

 that a thorough and systematic ornithological study of this area 

 from one end of the year to the other would bring to light many 

 points of considerable biological value. 



The writer has visited, during October of each year since 1906, 

 nearly all parts of the area under consideration, but he has been 

 unable to do any extensive collecting, as these visits have always 

 been by means of "pack outfits," and with no adequate facilities 

 for preserving skins. Nevertheless they have made possible a 



1 Forest Conditions — Gila River, Forest Reserve, New Mexico. Theo. F. 

 Rixon, Washington, 1905. 



