VOl i907" IV ] Kopman, Bird Distribution. 173 



small numbers, the Orchard Oriole is thoroughly at home in the 

 marshes, especially where bushy growths occur, and in such places 

 in fact various other species not primarily marsh birds may be 

 found. This is particularly true of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, 

 Kingbird, Cardinal, White-eyed Vireo, Titmice, Mockingbird, 

 Carolina Wren, and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. 



The sugar, rice, and trucking industries of lower Louisiana 

 have effected, of course, certain very decided modifications in the 

 nature of the growths. About the edges of most sugar plantations 

 there is usually more or less land that has been roughly cleared in 

 anticipation of its final cultivation. The rank productiveness of 

 such soil, commingles in one astonishing mass of confusion the 

 native lesser growths of the woods, and the escapes from the pas- 

 tures, the ditches, and the railroads. Willow, button bush, elder, 

 blackberry, tall coarse weeds, bindweeds, grasses, sedges, legumin- 

 ous plants both native and introduced, and all the common native 

 vines make almost impenetrable thickets. Even where introduced 

 plants have gained small foothold, the growths are always more 

 tangled on the edges of the fields than in the woods, and in either 

 case, the bird-life is about the most profuse to be discovered in 

 summer. The Yellow-breasted Chat is attracted almost exclu- 

 sively to spots of this description. The plantation bird-life adds 

 at least half a dozen other species to those occurring in summer 

 by virtue of the native constitution of the country. In this cate- 

 gory may be placed the Kingbird, Meadowlark, Cowbird, Indigo 

 Bunting and Bluebird, which are commonest towards the western 

 and northern limits of the delta region. The same is true of the 

 Dickcissel, which, however, is much rarer than the others. The 

 Painted Bunting is reasonably common in all localities, but most 

 so towards the west. The distribution of the Summer Tanager 

 throughout this region is decidedly irregular; there are few spots 

 of woodland suited to its habits and it occurs most frequently 

 among the groves of towns and plantations. The Wood Pewee 

 has somewhat the same distribution. The Towhee is more or 

 less common in summer about the edges of the woods except in the 

 wetter localities. Considered with reference to the delta region 

 as a whole, however, it can hardly be called a well established 

 breeder there. 



