8 INTRODUCTION. 



creasing admiration and use. Other States also have their high- 

 ways, more or less illustrative of the Commonwealths which they 

 traverse, but it is doubtful if another stretch of road of similar 

 length could be found displaying so perfectly such a varied array 

 of natural features and industries a cross section of the State, so 

 to speak, and a synopsis of its characteristics. 



From Phoenix to Roosevelt, 80 miles, and from Roosevelt to Globe, 

 40 miles, the Apache Trail cuts through the center of Arizona. Fol- 

 lowing its course we find the modern city of Phoenix, with the highly 

 cultivated farm lands of the valley about Tempe and Mesa, in close 

 proximity to primitive desert, as illustrated in the Papago Saguaro 

 National Monument; barren rocky hills hemming in lake and river; 

 pine-clad mountains looking down upon cactus-covered valleys be- 

 low ; and farms, cattle ranges, and mines all displayed to the traveler 

 on the biggest possible scale. 



In the background is the Apache Indian of the San Carlos Reser- 

 vation, a quiet spectator now, his previous activities having met with 

 disapproval, and behind him are the brooding structures of the cliff 

 dwellers, striving to tell a tale that no one has as yet interpreted. 



Just as this highway gives to the passing tourist a general concep- 

 tion of the various human interests and natural features of Arizona, 

 so, to the student of birds, is offered an outline inclusive of most of the 

 features of the avifauna of the entire State. The ornithologist trav- 

 ersing the region should do so with the following points in mind : 



1. For its entire length the Apache. Trail passes through the type 

 of .country that geographers term the Lower Sonoran Zone, ;which 

 includes all the low hot valleys of Arizona. The hills about Roose- 

 velt and Globe appear to be at the extreme upper limit of this di- 

 vision, but, except for a few species encountered at these points, the 

 birds of the Apache Trail belong to the highly characteristic avifauna 

 of the Lower Sonoran southwestern deserts. 



2. There is a/pliFficTrta^lyinteresting subdivision of this zone con- 

 stituted by the giant cactus association ; and growths of giant cactus 

 possess a pecuU^r^group oPbirds which go with it over most of the 

 trail. 



3. About Phoenix and Tempe may be observed in sharp contrast the 

 original desert avifauna and the very different bird life that has 

 come with farming and all that is implied in extensive irrigation. 



4. Just north of Roosevelt Lake are the Sierra Ancha, rising to a 

 height of about 7,500 feet and within easy reach for those 



to devote a few^days-krar^ftekririp. Here, amid forest^ of yellow pii 

 marking the^Transition Zonefhiay be observed an asserhldagef birdsj 

 differing as wlttely^romthat of the valley 15 miles away as 



