26 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



and sedges, and, in some localities along the brook, cat-tails and rushes. 

 Numerous moss-covered logs and hummocks rise from the standing water 

 or from the soggy earth. Around the edge of the swamp and along the 

 wood roads there are also dense tangles and thickets of weeds and shrub- 

 bery and near the southern end, an expanse of damp meadow. The altitude 

 of the swamp is 880 feet and it is surrounded by hills rising to a height 

 of 1000 to 1200 feet. The estimated average summer temperature during 

 the six hottest weeks is about 69 degrees F. The birds included in this 

 list are from the records of Burtch and Stone, the number after each species 

 representing its relative abundance as compared with the Song sparrow, 

 which is held to be the most abundant bird in the swamp and is marked 

 100. In addition to those birds which nest within the swamp, the author 

 has added from his own observation and consultation with Messrs Burtch 

 and Stone the following species which nest within half a mile, but their 

 relative abundance can not be determined: Killdeer, Belted kingfisher. 

 Chimney swift, Prairie horned lark, Vesper sparrow. Savannah sparrow. 

 Grasshopper sparrow. Chipping sparrow, Field sparrow. Cliff swallow, 

 Barn svv^allow. House wren and Ring-necked pheasant. 



Birds of Potter swamp in 1908. Numbers after each species indicate 

 relative abundance on the scale of 100. Black duck i. Wood duck 5, 

 American bittern 2, Least bittern 2, Great blue heron 7, Green heron 5, 

 Virginia rail 5, Sora 5, American woodcock 2, Wilson snipe i, Spotted 

 sandpiper 5, Ruffed grouse 5, Mourning dove 15, Marsh hawk i. Sharp- 

 shinned hawk I, Cooper hawk i. Red-tailed hawk 2, Red-shouldered hawk 2, 

 Sparrow hawk 2, Long-eared owl 3, Barred owl 2, Screech owl 8, Great 

 horned owl 2, Yellow-billed cuckoo 10, Black-billed cuckoo i. Hairy wood- 

 pecker 25, Downy woodpecker 30, Yellow-bellied sapsucker 5, Red-headed 

 woodpecker 8, Red-bellied woodpecker 15, Flicker 35, Ruby-throated 

 humming bird 15, Kingbird 8, Crested flycatcher 40, Phoebe 15, Wood 

 pewee 25, Alder flycatcher 10, Least flycatcher 20, Blue jay 10, Crow 30, 

 Bobolink 15, Cowbird 40, Red-winged blackbird 50, Meadowlark 10, 

 Baltimore oriole 30, Bronzed grackle 40, Goldfinch 30, Song sparrow 100, 



