Relation of Summer Birds to Western Adirondack Forest 403 



nearby food supply, and open illuminated spaces to create a most 

 desirable summer habitat for birds. 



The most striking thing which such a clearing suggests is the 

 influence of tall trees in an otherwise open area. The tops of such 

 trees naturally receive the earliest illumination and warmth in the 

 morning, and the latest at close of day; hence the most active song- 

 sters at dawn seek stations in trees to feed and sing, and from these 

 sites they also chant in the lingering evening light (see Mousley, 

 '19, '21). By visiting the tree-tops in the early morning, before the 

 shrubbery and lower growth of the ravines and ground cover receive 

 their first direct rays, the birds add materially to their hours for 

 foraging and singing. It is supposable that day-flying insects are 

 active as a rule in the tree-tops before those in the cooler and 

 unlighted foliage below are stirring. The first spring warblings of 

 the Bluebird are heard from the tops of tall trees. Robins recite 

 their morning and evening choruses from commanding sites, and 

 the evening songs of other Thrushes generally float down from the 

 higher branches. The song of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a 

 feature of the tall conifers, a burst of tuneful melody from illumin- 

 ated spots in the woodland. The Red-breasted Nuthatch prefers to 

 glean in the higher foliage. Many of the Warblers spend their time 

 in the upper portions of the forest canopy, searching for their daily 

 fare and uttering their short songs as they flit among the twigs in 

 their quest. The Red-eyed Vireo loves the leafy screen of the taller 

 hardwoods for singing and feeding. The Scarlet Tanager prefers 

 the sunlight and warmth of the tree-tops, and the Rose-breasted 

 Grosbeak seeks the highest stations for its full-voiced vernal song. 

 The Pine Siskin and the Red Crossbill pursue their nervous activities 

 in the tops of the dominant trees. The Crested Flycatcher usually 

 finds a cavity in the upper story of the woods for its nesting site, 

 as also do such woodpeckers as nest in the wilderness. Most of the 

 rapacious birds build their nests in the tops of trees from which they 

 can command a view of the neighborhood. Towering trees produce 

 certain effects by their projection of dense shadows. On the middle 

 story of the forest canopy and upon the ground cover their shadows 

 lay a denser shade, augmenting the gloom that produces a twilight 

 effect in the forest even at noonday, — a feature of the original 

 woods that all birds avoid in favor of the sunny places. In the tops 

 of trees, reaching upward to uninterrupted light, birds may be heard 

 calling or singing as they seek their insect fare amid the burnished 

 foliage, While below all seems silent and forsaken. 



The effect of masses of light, as contrasted with prevailing shadow, 

 is noticeable on the eastern shores of streams early in the morning, 

 and on their western banks in the afternoon. When the sun is in the 

 west, gloom emelops the wooded western banks of brooks and 

 ponds, while their eastern margins still gleam in the flooding sun- 

 light. Thus on opposite banks of even narrow streams diverse 

 lighting affects the activities of the birds alonp - their courses, much 

 as do the sunny tops and shaded depths of a level forest. On the 



