Vol i907" IV ] Kopmax, Bird Distribution. 169 



as it was almost too far I tumbled to it, and killed it by a lucky snap. 

 The flesh was exactly half way, being neither white nor brown. 



"Some days after, Hiram told me he had seen the bird repeatedly 

 the spring before, dancing with the Prairie Chickens in his garden. 



"The crop was full of leaves of the mountain laurel, and I know 

 he must have gone higher than chicken go, to get them, but some- 

 thing called him down into the orchard where Blue Grouse never 

 are seen except occasionally in July or August." 



Mr. Green is of the opinion that the cross is between male 

 Richardson's Grouse and female Sharp-tail, but the appearance 

 of the specimen inclines me to think it is a case of a female Blue 

 Grouse wandering down in the spring into the Sharp-tail country; 

 as in my experience a hybrid generally favors the male parent. 



The specimen has been presented by Mr. Green to the Provin- 

 cial Museum at Victoria. 



ASPECTS OF BIRD DISTRIBUTION IN LOUISIANA 

 AND MISSISSIPPI. 



BY HENRY H. KOPMAN. 



The writer Avill explain at the outset that this article has refer- 

 ence chiefly to the southeastern part of Louisiana and to the coast 

 of Mississippi. It is his belief, however, that when he presents a 

 view of some of the characteristic conditions of these sections he 

 will call attention to facts almost if not quite unparalleled in the 

 experience of bird students in other parts of the United States. 



Assuming the normal, settled summer bird population of these 

 regions to be the primarily characteristic element in their avifauna, 

 we recognize its chief peculiarity in the dearth of species repre- 

 sented, frequently offset by a great abundance of individuals, but 

 in other cases, much rarer, resulting in an altogether attenuated 

 state of bird-life. The significance of the periods of migration in 

 such regions is therefore obvious, and will be fully discussed later 

 on. 



