Relation of Summer Birds to Western Adirondack Forest 461 



sang nearer than fifty yards from the site. After the young came 

 out of the nest the entire family disappeared. This nest was a 

 bulky structure of coarse weed stems and joints of dried grasses, 

 with fibrous rootlets interwoven, and a lining of fine rootlets and 

 wiry grasses. 



*Savannah Sparrow. Passercidus sandwichensis savanna 

 (Wils.) 



The Savannah Sparrow was not observed at Cranberry Lake by me 

 in the season of 1916, although Eaton ('14, p. 288) states that it is 

 a " common summer resident throughout central and western New 

 York and in the Adirondack district." It is distinguished by a 

 bright yellow spot before the eye. 



* Vesper Sparrow. Pocecetes gramineus gramineus (Gmel.) 

 The Vesper Sparrow was not observed at Cranberry Lake by 



me in 1916, but it was noted at Barber Point in 191 5 by Prof. L. H. 

 Pennington. Merriam ('81, p. 229) mentions it as common in 

 " dry grass-covered clearings and sandy fields." Eaton ('14, p. 285) 

 reports that " this sparrow is a common summer resident in all por- 

 tions of the state." Its white outer tail-feathers, conspicuous in 

 flight, are its mark of easy recognition. 



* Pine Siskin. Spinus pinus (Wils.) 



The Pine Siskin was not seen by me. I fully expected to meet it 

 in the western Adirondacks, for in the forest region of Montana 

 the Pine Siskin associates so intimately with the American Crossbill 

 that it seems peculiar to find the latter occurring commonly without 

 the former. The supply of tamarack cones seems to be a leading 

 factor in influencing their presence in the woods, together with the 

 hemlock seed crop; and 1916 may have been a season which such 

 attractions were lacking in the Adirondack bill-of-fare. 



Goldfinch. Astragalinus tristis tristis (Linn.) 



Length 5.1. Male, rich yellow, with black cap; wings and tail black, 

 spotted with white; female olive-brown above, buffy below; wings and 

 tail dusky. 



The Goldfinch is a noticeable inhabitant of the Habitation Clearing 

 and the Burn. It manifests a preference for human associations, 

 and at Barber Point it came freely into the trees in the open campus, 

 being attracted particularly by the seed-bearing white birches. During 

 the later part of July and through August the Goldfinch resorted to 

 the birches to feed upon the ripened seeds ; often only a single pair 

 frequented the birches, and early in the morning and at evening 

 the male Goldfinch would perch in the top of a tall maple on the 

 campus and utter his nuptial songs. Most commonly the Goldfinches 

 are heard as they fly about the locality, usually in pairs, calling in 

 plaintive tones their dee ee expressions of their emotions. Open 

 low growth, with clumps of saplings and shrubbery, preferably 

 with a trace of human surroundings, consitutes the favorite habitat 



