364 Blackwelder, Summer Birds of Iron County, Mich. [q"^ 



generally been burned so often that even the sod and herbage has 

 been killed, leaving a relatively barren waste, with a few charred 

 stubs rising above it. Scattered throughout the area there are 

 many swamps, bristling with cedar and tamarack, only small por- 

 tions of which have as yet been cut by the lumbermen. Many 

 scattered lakes connected by crooked streams, complete the list of 

 topographic features. Around settlements there are, of course, 

 cleared farms and orchards, but these cover only a small part of the 

 district. 



The bird population may be readily classified into several so- 

 cieties, which are relatively distinct from one another. It would 

 be possible to refine this classification considerably, but the data 

 gathered last summer hardly make this advisable. 



In the open hardwood forests birds are not abundant. The 

 characteristic species there are the Red-eyed Vireo, the Wood 

 Pewee, the Hermit and other Thrushes, the Rose-breasted Gros- 

 beak, an occasional Scarlet Tanager, and several warblers of the 

 genus Dendroica. While walking through these open park-like 

 woods, one is seldom out of hearing of the peaceful notes of the 

 Vireo and Pewee. 



It is doubtful if any considerable area of the original pine forest 

 remains in the district. At least our zigzag travels did not happen 

 to lead us into any such. What its bird fauna may have been can 

 not therefore be stated here. In the tangles of brush and charred 

 stumps that mark the trail of the lumbermen through either the 

 hard wood or the coniferous forests, birds are generally abundant. 

 The most characteristic denizen of these wastes is the White- 

 throated Sparrow, whose plaintive note is well known to everyone 

 who has had experience in the northern woods. In the brushy 

 tangles, the Towhee, the Junco, and the Winter Wren are character- 

 istic birds. Where some of the original trees are left, the Flicker, 

 the Robin, and the Ruffed Grouse are commonly met with. The 

 Pileated Woodpecker, doubtless originally an inhabitant of the 

 great pine forests, may now be found occasionally in those parts of 

 the lumbered area where fires have not been too destructive. The 

 Northern Raven is another not uncommon member of this society. 

 The dense cedar and tamarack swamps are generally silent 

 places and seem to have but few bird inhabitants. Only the Chick- 



