THE OOLOQIST 



135 



first trip, and I found, each time tliat 

 the view was more or less obscured 

 by haze. 



It was not until June 26, 1910, that 

 I again had the pleasure of visiting 

 the Berkshires. Leaving Boston at 

 11:30 the night before, I arrived 

 shortly after five o'clock next morn- 

 ing, at North Adams, and after a 

 hearty breakfast, I took a car and 

 rode down the valley. At the end of 

 an hour I stood at the foot of Grey- 

 lock. I will not attempt to describe 

 the beauty of the scenery, much of 

 which outrivalled the gorgeousness of 

 Autumn. The day was bright and 

 clear, and the view was not, there- 

 fore obstructed by haze. 



During the time I was there, I made 

 careful notes on the birds, their 

 abundance and distribution. I found 

 them very abundant and in full song, 

 but the number of species noted 

 were less than one would find in an 

 equal area in the eastern part of the 

 state. It is not my intention to list 

 all the species seen, however, but 

 rather to call attention to the distri- 

 bution of certain ones. To this end I 

 have divided the mountain into three 

 parts, which I shall designate as "The 

 Lower Third," "The Middle Third," 

 and "The Upper Third." These three 

 divisions are not equal in area. The 

 lower third follows the trail from the 

 base of the mountain for a distance 

 of about a mile and a half. It is char- 

 acterized by a more open and a 

 younger growth of timber than higher 

 up, and contains the two small farms 

 already mentioned. Several birds oc- 

 cur here that are not found higher 

 up. 



The middle third continues from 

 here to the point where the trail 

 emerges from the tall woods and 

 joins the carriage road. It is the 

 largest of the three sections, and con- 

 tains the greater number of birds. 



The trees grow tall and rather slend- 

 er, are close together and the Canoe 

 Birch is the most conspicuous tree. 

 From the end of this section to the 

 summit comprises the upper third. 

 Sometime in the past the timber has 

 probably been cut off or burned over, 

 and a more stunted growth has taken 

 its place, interspersed with tall dead 

 stubs, the bleached remains of the 

 former "forest primeval." 



For convenience I have divided the 

 birds into six groups, as follows: 



1. Birds confined to the valley. 



2. Birds confined to the lower 

 third. 



3. Birds confined to the middle 

 third. 



4. Birds confined to the upper 

 third. 



5. Birds most numerous in one of 

 the above sections but also extending 

 into another. 



6. Birds equally distributed at all 

 elevations. 



Of the birds confined to the valley, 

 the two most noticeable were the 

 Meadowlark and Barn Swallow. Very 

 common everywhere they were imme- 

 diately lost sight of as soon as we 

 left the valley. Several other species 

 also belong to this class, — the Red- 

 wings, and Bronzed Grackles, Yellow 

 Warblers, Baltimore Orioles, House 

 Wrens and Cedar Waxwings. The 

 most abundant bird, or at least the 

 one most in evidence on the lower- 

 third of the mountain was the Indigo 

 bird, with the Red-eyed Vireo and 

 Black-throated Green Warblers a 

 close second. The Wood Pewee was 

 also found in this section exclusively. 

 Each of these species was suddenly 

 missed upon reaching the Birches of 

 the middle section. The Ovenbird 

 now took the place of the Indigo bird 

 and the air resounded on all sides 

 with their vibrating song. But this 

 species properly belongs in group 



