32 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Cayuga lakes. It will be noticed by the student of bird distribution 

 that here is a curious admixture within a short radius of various Caro- 

 linian and Canadian faunal species, and a striking illustration of the 

 effects of slope and of evaporating waters, both upon the temperature 

 and the low rate of evaporation, which determines the presence of northern 

 species. 



THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURE OPERATIONS 



The effect of the so-called culture conditions upon our native bird 

 life has been referred to in volume I, pages 50 to 57. Anyone who has 

 perused the present chapter thus far can not fail to perceive that all the 

 various bird communities are immediately affected by the manifold changes 

 which have occurred since the settlement of the State. Eighteen and 

 one-half millions of acres of the State domains are no longer wooded, only 

 twelve million acres of woodland remaining. The result of such a change 

 within two centuries has been keenly felt by all the sylvan birds. The 

 effect of the principal operations which have a widespread influence 

 upon bird life may be briefly summarized. 



Timber cutting. The destruction of our primeval forest has often 

 been noted as the main cause for the decrease of bird life, but this 

 subject should be considered more carefully by the students of bird 

 conservation. There can be no doubt that such species as the Raven, 

 Pileated woodpecker, larger hawks and owls, and most of those species 

 which are classed as belonging to the mature forest communities, 

 whether deciduous or evergreen, will be discouraged by a reduc- 

 tion of the growth of standing timber. At the same time, the effect 

 of cutting the forest benefits all species of the open field, and nearly 

 every kind of bird which is ordinarily classed as a forest species increases 

 when the forest growth is less dense and the amount of underbrush 

 increases. As an example of this, we might cite the case of the Chestnut- 

 sided warbler. This bird was considered a rare species in the days of 

 Wilson and Audubon. Chapman in his Warblers of North America, 

 page 189, calls attention to the fact that it is now a common species in 



