Sept., 1907 SOME BIRDS OF SOUTHWEST COLORADO 153 



from the counties of Montezuma, Montrose and San Miguel, which is specified as 

 it occurs in the text. My location was unfavorable for water birds so no account 

 is taken of them. 



Fort I^ewis school is situated on a terrace a few feet above the I^a Plata River. 

 On each side of the river is a more or less level mesa covered with a growth of pine 

 {Pimis Jiexilis), pinyon {Pintis ediilis), juniper {Juniperiis occidentalis) and scrub 

 02^ (yQtiercus undulata and Qiieraisii. gambeli). The river bottom sustains a 

 heavy growth of narrow-leaf cottonwood {Populus angustifolid) ^ black birch 

 {Betiila occidentalis) , paper-leaf alder {Alnus temiifolia) , two kinds of willow, 

 some aspens {Popiilus treuiiiloidcs) , a few pines {P. flexilis) , and an occasional 

 blue spruce (yPicea fungens). Two trips were made to the top of the lya Plata 

 Mountains, something over 13,000 feet elevation, and vegetation already noted was 

 found to gradually give way to more of the blue spruce and aspen. 



I am indebted to ex-Supt. W. M. Peterson and Supt. J. S. Spear, of the Fort 

 Lewis School, for opportunity for study and observation. The list is by no means 

 complete but may prove of interest to some Condor readers. 



Dendragapus obscurus. Dusky Grouse. Said to be commom on the north 

 slopes of the I^a Plata Mountains. I picked up a dead one December 20, on the 

 snow near L,a Plata City, altitude 10,000 feet. It had been partly eaten, by an 

 owl, perhaps. 



Pedioecetes phasianellus columbianus or campestris. Sharp-tailed Grouse. A 

 few scattered on the mesas at about 7,500 feet. Resident thruout the year. In 

 winter their tracks are frequently seen on top of snow 3 or 4 feet deep. I have 

 seen where they roosted in the snow — a short tunnel with two openings; apparently 

 only one bird in each, however. Two birds secured had crops full of acorns. The 

 greatest number seen was a flock of 18, the usual number being 6 to 10. On May 

 11, 1906, Mr. W. M. Peterson found a nest containing 11 eggs, situated on the 

 ground under a small scrub oak. He drove over the bush in a buggy but the nest 

 escaped harm. Not so the brood, however, which hatched two weeks later; for an 

 Indian killed the mother before the young were old enough to shift for themselves. 

 The nest-cavity was lined with grass and feathers. I identified two birds secured 

 as variety campestris, but afterward noting what Cooke's "Birds of Colorado" had 

 to say on the subject I became uncertain. They are now in California and must 

 await authoritative identification. 



Zenaidura carolinensis. Mourning Dove. Not numerous at this altitude. A 

 few noted in summer. Several seen in January near Navajo Springs on the South- 

 ern Ute reservation near the New Mexico line, altitude about 5,500 feet. Probably 

 a few winter there. Mr. Warren reports them near Cortez April 8, and common at 

 Coventry, Montrose County, about April 20. 



Meleagris gollopavo merriami. Merriam Turkey. Mr. Warren tells me that 

 C. H. Smith of Coventry saw a turkey, probably this variety, in January, 1899, in 

 San Miguel Canyon and heard of them a year or two later in the same locality. 

 While down in the Navajo reservation in New Mexico I helped eat two wild 

 turkeys killed by Indians in the Carriso Mountains, somewhere near the Four 

 Corners. They sold them to a post trader but had all the feathers picked off before 

 bringing them in. I was not expert enough to identify the subspecies after they 

 had been brought on the table but judged they were hatched at least five years be- 

 fore before being bitten into. 



Circus hudsonius. Marsh Hawk. Seen once near the New Mexico line. Mr. 

 Warren reports it at Cortez in April. 



