N "',,,,.; • ] Wbioht and Harper, The Birds of Okefinokee Swamp. 483 



1 I \H1TATS. 



Iii the eastern United States few, if any, areas of equal extent 

 afford such exceptional opportunities for the study of animal life 

 in a primeval state as does Okefinokee Swamp. Handicapped as 

 we were by time and the difficulties of exploration, we can make 

 this report only a preliminary survey of ecological conditions which 

 alight well occupy years of immediate and attentive study, before 

 the commercial encroachments destroy this paradise for the present- 

 day naturalist. 



As R. M. Harper x has pointed out, ' The various aspects of differ- 

 ent parts of Okefinokee Swamp seem to depend almost entirely 

 on the distance of the sand} bottom below or above the water level.' 

 The swamp may be divided conveniently into four major ecological 

 divisions: the islands, the cypress 'bays, 5 the prairies, and the 

 watercourses. The cypress 'hays' and the prairies are probably 

 about equal in area, and cover by far the greater pari of the swamp. 

 A glance at the map (Plate 1 1 will show r the extent of the islands 

 and the more important prairies. Though all of the swamp, ex- 

 clusive of the islands, is inundated, the smallest of the four divisions 

 is the open watercourses. 



The islands. These are covered for the most part with pine 

 barrens (Plate XVII). The long-leaf pine (Pinus palustris) pre- 

 dominates in the drier areas, and the slash pine (P. EUiottii) in 

 the more moist situations. Beneath the pines is an abundant and 

 practically continuous growth of saw-palmetto (Serenoa serrulata). 

 Intermixed with it is a heath (Ericaceae) society, composed of 

 several species of huckleberries (Gaylussacia) and blueberries 

 (Vaccinium), 'poor grub' (Xolisma ferruginea), 'gallberry 5 (Ilex 

 glabra), and 'calico hush' (Kahiiia hirsuta). The huckleberries 

 and blueberries grow in the utmost profusion, and form an impor- 

 tant element in the food of many birds ami mammals. A third 

 and lower group of plants consists of sedges and other small herbs. 

 The islands are so Hat and rise so slightly above the level of the 

 swamp, that there is very little drainage; and after rains the 

 sandy soil i^ covered with water in many places. < >ver the limited 



' hoc. cit., p. 606. 



