BIRDS. 273 



BIRDS. 



BY NORMAN A. WOOD AND FREDERICK GAIGE. 

 GENERAL DISCUSSION. 



The following observations on the birds of the sand region of Huron 

 County, Michigan, were made by the "v\Titers while attached to the 

 biological survey in the summer of 1908. The senior writer reached 

 Sand Point, which was the first locality studied, June 13, and from 

 that date remained upon the Point, making daily observations upon 

 the birds, until August 27, when the party left the field. The junior 

 writer joined the party on Sand Point on June 21 and remained there 

 until July 12. On the latter date he went with three other members 

 of the expedition to Stony Island, remaining there until July 19. The 

 time between July 19 and 29 was again spent on Sand Point, and the 

 rest of the time (until August 27) in the vicinity of Rush Lake. (See 

 map.) 



It may be seen from this itinerary that three distinct localities were 

 studied: the sand region between Sand Point and Hat Point, Stony 

 Island, and the clay country at Rush Lake. In the sand region the 

 habitat conditions are dominated by the sandy soil. The ridges are 

 covered with open growths of jack pine and the swamps with dense 

 growths of maple, cedar etc., or with grasses and sedges. The clay 

 country at Rush Lake, on the other hand, is largely taken up with 

 open fields. (See plates.) 



We hoped to be able to make a comparison between the avifaunas 

 of the three regions, but enough time could not be given to the ornis 

 of the clay country. For this reason, in the following list of the birds 

 that occur in the clav country but not in the sand region, as far as our 

 observations go, we have excluded all species that we believe may con- 

 fidently be expected to occur in the sand region: Killdeer (as a breed- 

 er), bob-white, phoebe, horned lark, bartramian sandpiper, bobolink, 

 meadow lark, bronzed grackle, vesper sparrow, grasshopper sparrow 

 and migrant shi-ike. 



The conditions on Stony Island differ from those of the other two 



regions in that the soil is not sandy nor the A'egetation cleared away, 



the highland being largely covered by a dense growth of deciduous 



trees and the lowland principally by large wooded and grassy swamps. 



3.5 



