122 Grinnell, Summer Birds of Sitka. \ K%\ 



8. Coliniis atriceps (Ogilvie-Grant). Black-headed Bob-white. Putla, 

 western Oaxaca. (About 4000 feet.) 



9. Coliuus salvifiil>ie\sor\. Salvin's Bob-white. Coast plains of south- 

 ern Chiapas, near Guatemalan border. (Sea level to 500 feet.) 



10. Colinus iusi^-uis Nelson. Guatemala Bob-white. Valley of Comitan 

 in Chiapas, into adjacent border of western Guatemala. (3000-6000 feet.) 



11. Colinits nigrogularis (Gould). Yucatan Bob-white. Yucatan. 

 (Sea level to 500 feet.) 



-^ SUMMER BIRDS OF SITKA, ALASKA. 



BY JOSEPH GRINNELL. 



The well-known humidity of the Northwest Coast appar- 

 ently reaches its extreme in the region about Sitka. Tlie temper- 

 ature is moderate throughout the year, and this, together with the 

 excessive moisture, favors the growtli of the heavy coniferous 

 forests which cover almost every bit of land from the sea-level up 

 to the lower limit of the summer snows on the mountains. Every 

 one of the hundreds of small islands which convert Sitka Bay 

 into an intricate network of narrow channels, is densely tim- 

 bered, even to the water's edge. 



However, along the shores, especially at the heads of the 

 numerous inlets where the streams enter the ocean, are narrow 

 strips of shorter vegetation, such as alders and salmonberry 

 bushes. These small tracts of deciduous growth, together with 

 the taller timber immediately adjoining, are the localities most 

 frequented by the smaller land birds. In fact, the dark mossy 

 forests but a few rods back from the coast are almost destitute of 

 bird life. 



For the most part the shores are rocky and the land rises 

 directly out of the water, so there are few beaches. Indian 

 River is a swift mountain stream which rises among the snow- 

 capped peaks scarcely ten miles to the northward, and enters the 

 sea a half mile east of Sitka. At its mouth are rather extensive 

 sandy tideflats and bars, which are about the only ones in the 

 vicinity and so form an important attraction to the Waders. 



