3248 MERRILL, Bzrds of Fort Sherman, Idaho. rau 
spring; here a growth of tules, water grasses, and willows, with a 
limited number of cottonwoods on the edges, form the only invit- 
ing spots for a considerable number of land birds that never from 
choice enter the surrounding pine forests, and a few marsh birds 
and Ducks also frequent them. A belt of cottonwoods extends 
along the Spokane River for some miles and affords a convenient 
route for many migrants. Except close along shore the northern 
part of the lake is very deep, and in the autumn most water birds 
soon find their way to the southern end where the marshy valley 
of the St. Joseph River offers congenial feeding and resting 
places. About every third winter the surface of the lake is frozen; 
as long as it is open a few Grebes, Gulls and Ducks remain, 
going to the always open Spokane River when forced to by the 
ice. A marsh of the character described is about a mile south- 
west of the fort and is sometimes referred to in this paper. 
About six miles to the north, a pine forest intervening, is the 
eastern end of the great Spokane prairie. Mica Peak, locally 
so-called, one of the highest mountains in the vicinity, is about 
eleven miles to the southwest, gradually rising from near the lake 
shore to a height of about three thousand feet above it; the 
summit is about a mile east of the Washington State line. 
Another and the true Mica Peak is about three miles further 
southwest ; it is in Washington, and is a little higher than the 
Idaho peak of the same name. 
In some respects the local climatic conditions resemble those 
of the Northern Cascade Range more nearly than those of any 
other part of the Rocky Mountains or its neighboring ranges in 
the United States. The winters usually are not severe and 
Chinook winds are frequent. The rainfall, including its equiva- 
Jent in the heavy winter snowfall, is considerable and the large 
number of cloudy days adds to the faunal effect of the actual rain 
and snow. The avifauna is, as would be expected, essentially 
that of the Northern Rocky Mountains, but there is an element 
of Cascade Mountain forms, as shown by the presence of such 
species as Xenopicus, Troglodytes hiemals paciicus, Parus rufescens, 
Hesperocichla, and others. 
The little collecting that has been done in Idaho was chiefly in 
the southern and central parts of the State and has been well 
