170 Kopman, Bird Distribution. [April 



As the regions under consideration fall naturally into two distinct 

 topographical types, it will be convenient, first, to give a brief de- 

 scription of each type, and, second, to discuss the subject chosen 

 in relation to each type separately. 



The coast district of southeastern Louisiana presents an abso- 

 lutely flat surface, of a very fertile alluvial soil formation, support- 

 ing, with varying circumstances, marshes, swamps, or normal de- 

 ciduous forest growths, of rather monotonous uniformity hi any 

 case. At distances varying from fifty to seventy-five miles from 

 the coast this formation is replaced by slightly higher ground pre- 

 senting an entirely different soil formation wooded chiefly with 

 pine, especially the long-leaved pine (P. palustris). This latter 

 is the one aspect of coastal Mississippi, and in the case of that 

 State requires to be treated separately only because there such 

 country borders the seashore. 



The essential uniformity of coastal southeastern Louisiana, 

 the area centering about the delta of the Mississippi River, is 

 revealed by the fact that all arboreal species occur with almost 

 equal abundance in every part of this region. For a region of 

 interest so special, this section is very extensive. From points 

 near the mouth of the Mississippi westward to Franklin and New 

 Iberia, and thence eastward and northeastward to New Orleans 

 and Baton Rouge, lie the boundaries of a region haunted indif- 

 ferently in all parts during the nesting season by a practically 

 invariable group of woodland species — the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, 

 Southern Hairy, Downy, Red-bellied, and Pileated Woodpeckers, 

 Crested and Green-crested Flycatchers, Cardinal, Red-eyed and 

 White-eyed Vireos, Prothonotary, Parula, Sycamore, Kentucky, 

 and Hooded Warblers, Carolina Wren, Tufted Titmouse, and 

 Carolina Chickadee. A varying number of species that frequent 

 open situations, such as the Orchard Oriole, Florida Grackle,and 

 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, are to be found throughout the same 

 extent of country, but as their distribution depends more or less 

 on artificial conditions, it is of less importance in determining the 

 biotic questions involved. 



The appearance of the interior of a deciduous forest in lowland 

 Louisiana would readily suggest a rather limited avifauna in the 

 nesting season at least. Elm, ash, tupelo, cypress, dogwood 



