August 12, 1904.] 



SCIENCE. 



207 



prevents rapid working, or to the destruc- 

 tion of a first nest. The finding of a nest 

 of the willow thrush, which ordinarily 

 builds close to the ground, six and one half 

 feet up in a tree, will be of interest to 

 students of animal intelligence, as illus- 

 trating the change of habit due to environ- 

 ment. The region in which the nests occur 

 may overflow annually. 



Among the interesting notes concerning 

 the distribution of Montana birds, that of 

 the occurrence of the varied thrush, Hes- 

 perocichla ncevia (Gmel.), is of impor- 

 tance. This songster heretofore has not 

 been reported east of the Coeur d'Alene 

 .Mountains in Montana. It was found in 

 abundance at the head of Swan Lake, and 

 by reliable observers in the neighborhood 

 it was reported to be a permanent resident 

 and one of the earliest in nidification. 

 The olive-backed thrush, Tiirdus ustulatiis 

 swainsonii (Cab.), was found in numbers 

 at the head of Flathead Lake, though in 

 equally advantageous localities seventy 

 miles farther south it was scarcely repre- 

 sented. At Selish, on the Jocko River, we 

 noted the long-tailed chat, Icteria virens 

 longicauda (Lawr.), abundant in numbers 

 and in full song, though we were too early 

 for the nesting season. A small colony 

 of Holboell's grebe, Colymhus holboellii 

 (Reinh.), was found nesting on Swan Lake, 

 and several sets of eggs, in complements 

 of three, four and five eggs, were taken. 

 Specimens of pigeon hawk, Falco colum- 

 barius Linn., Richardson's Merlin, Falco 

 richardsonii Ridgw., pygmy owl, Glau- 

 cidium gnoma WagL, pileated woodpecker, 

 Ceophloeus pileatus (Linn.) and the like 

 were taken. 



Principal Silloway is now pushing his 

 ornithological investigations in other direc- 

 tions, to regions not visited by ornitholo- 

 gists, with the idea of later preparing a 

 work on the birds of the state. 



The biological station is favorably situ- 

 ated for carrying on work in plant ecology 

 lines. This is due to the fact that within 

 a radius of ten miles there are several dif- 

 ferent climates, giving rise to different 

 plant formations. The west side of the 

 valley at the head of Flathead Lake and 

 the Mission valley at the south end of the 

 lake have little rainfall, and a typical 

 prairie vegetation is the result. Kalispell, 

 situated in the prairie, has a I'ainfall of 

 about sixteen inches per year. The east 

 side of the valley has a greater precipita- 

 tion and a forest formation results from 

 this. Columbia Falls, situated at the base 

 of the mountains on the east side of the 

 valley, has a rainfall of a little over twenty- 

 one inches per year. This town is only a 

 short distance from Kalispell. The moun- 

 tains near the station are very accessible, 

 so that alpine conditions can be easily 

 studied. 



The botanical work done in the summer 

 of 1902, by Harry N. Whitford, was en- 

 tirely along forest ecology lines. A map 

 was made comprising some 96 square miles, 

 which are situated mostly in the forest 

 formation, but reach into the edge of the 

 prairie. Five well-defined plant societies 

 were noted. These are distinctly related 

 to the amount of water in the soil, and 

 that in turn depends mainly on the topo- 

 graphic diversity. The hydrophytic socie- 

 ties are closely associated with a great 

 amount of water in the soil. They are 

 located along streams and around lakes, 

 and have plants in them resembling very 

 much those in similar situations in the 

 eastern part of the LTnited States. 



The mesohydrophytic societies are usu- 

 ally adjacent to the meadows. Because the 

 Engelmann spruce is the principal tree in 

 these they are called the Engelmann spruce 

 societies. Other trees associated with the 

 spruce are the narrow-leafed cottonwood. 



