Wyoming Birds. 



Nebraska line in the summer of 1890. They have grad- 

 ually worked up the valley until they have reached the 

 vicinity of Guernsey. They have also worked up the Lar- 

 amie River to the neighborhood of Uva. They are not and 

 have not been numerous, being pioneers, as it were. Dur- 

 ing the winter of 1908-9 a covey of twenty-two frequented 

 my yard here and fed with my chickens. On last Friday 

 morning, June 14, I heard two Bobwhites on my meadow 

 at Gray Rocks, on the Laramie River, ten miles west of 

 here. Occasional coveys are to be seen or heard along the 

 valleys of both rivers as far as I have indicated. The quail 

 evidently followed the course of the Platte Valley from 

 Nebraska, and they are gradually working farther up the 

 tributaries of the Platte as fast as the grain belt advances. 

 I believe the cultivation of the soil to grains of various 

 kinds is the only thing which has induced them to migrate 

 west.'' 



We, therefore, feel justified in concluding that the 

 changed conditions in the state in respect to increased 

 raising of grain, tree planting, and the irrigation-of large 

 tracts have been the direct cause of the increase in the num- 

 ber of birds, an increase which has been so marked that 

 residents of the state in general have noticed and com- 

 mented upon it. 



Although many birds are steadily increasing in numbers, 

 it seems likely that game birds are decreasing, owing to 

 excessive hunting. It is rather difficult to judge of the 

 relative numbers of certain game birds as compared with 

 former years, because they do not nest in the state. They 

 may seem to vary from year to year, possibly taking dif- 

 ferent routes in migration. Collectors as a rule report sev- 

 eral species of duck less numerous than in years past. In 

 fact, it is generally recognized that they are decreasing in 



