428 Roosevelt Wild Life Bulletin 



spring and its seeds in the fall and winter. The movements and 

 activities of the Crossbills are governed largely by the forest's sup- 

 ply of cones, hence these birds rove about much in quest of food, 

 visiting the seed-bearing trees as they find supplies here and there 

 to claim their attention. At their repasts in the balsams and other 

 conifers the Crossbills detach many cones and also loosen many 

 seeds which fall to the ground uninjured and later germinate. 

 These birds, therefore, are agents in the distribution of conifers 

 throughout the region. Besides the Crossbills, the Canada Spruce 

 Partridge eats balsam buds in the spring; and it often makes its nest 

 under fir trees, in the shelter of their low-drooping branches, as 

 also does the Ruffed Grouse. The Olive-backed Thrush character- 

 istically selects the fir as a situation for its nest, placing it on a 

 horizontal branch against the main stem at a point about two-thirds 

 the way up the tree. The Golden-crowned Kinglet commonly con- 

 structs its globular nest there, and the Cedar Waxwing often builds 

 in the fork of a scraggy limb. The Chipping Sparrow, Pine Sis- 

 kin, Crossbill, Purple Finch, Blue Jay and Canada Jay are also 

 among Adirondack birds that freely nest in the fir, as do also vari- 

 ous Flycatchers, Warblers, Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, Creepers, 

 and even the Hummingbird and Sharp-shinned Hawk. I have 

 found an equally long list of birds that make their homes among 

 the branches of fir trees in northern Montana. 



The White Pine and the Birds. In the original forest the white 

 pine (Pinus Strobus) towered aloft in strength and dignity as the 

 most important element of the mixed woods of the Adirondack 

 region, and in the remaining areas of virgin timber the white pine 

 is still a dominant figure. It is scattered quite generally throughout 

 the Adirondack plateau, but thrives best on the sandy levels and in 

 the valleys of ancient lakes and glacial stream beds. On extensive 

 sandy areas as in the Champlain-Hudson drainage, it flourishes 

 almost to the exclusion of other trees, making such a large propor- 

 tion of the timber that it appears to be a pure stand. The seeds of 

 the white pine are produced in long cylindrical cones that are found 

 scattered about under the trees after they have opened and dis- 

 tributed their seed in the winds. The white pine is not as popular 

 with birds as are other conifers. It is very unusual to find a nest 

 in a young pine, its habit of growth in open situations perhaps 

 making it rather too conspicuous for nesting sites, and its foliage 

 affording little concealment. A small group of birds do resort to 

 the white pine in summer, among them Kinglets, Chickadees, 

 Nuthatches, Vireos, Brown Creepers, the Pine, Black-throated 

 Green, Blackburnian and Myrtle Warblers, Pine Siskins, Crossbills, 

 Pileated and Three-toed Woodpeckers, and the Broad-winged, Red- 

 shouldered, Red-tailed and Fish Hawks. The larger birds of prey 

 find the loftier pines excellent for nesting and for vantage points 

 from which to survey the landscape. The list might be extended if 

 one were to add all the birds that put its long needle-like leaves 

 into the structure of their nests, or glean among its resinous 

 branches, forming altogether an ecological group of great interest. 



