The Bobolink 



altitude (that of Eagleville, where the birds were seen, is 4725 ft.), the 

 male birds were in high plumage and singing freely. 



Although chiefly confined to the portion of America east of the 

 Rockies, Bobolinks had, in all probability, discovered the well-watered 

 region tributary to Salt Lake previous to the advent of the white man. 

 We surmise that they reached this region by an extension of range from 

 the north and east rather than from the south, and that they return 

 annually by some 

 unplotted east-and- 

 west route. The 

 spread of agricul- 

 ture and of irriga- 

 tion in Utah and 

 southern Idaho has 

 been attended by 

 an increase of Bob- 

 olinks in that sec- 

 tion, and it is alto- 

 gether probable 

 that the overflow 

 from those favored 

 regions is seeking 

 out, and will find 

 increasingly, asy- 

 lum in the hay- 

 growing sections of 

 Washington, Ore- 

 gon, and northern 

 California. In view, 

 therefore, of the 

 pleasant possibility 

 that Bobolinks may 

 increase within our 

 borders, I include a 

 few paragraphs 

 written from a 

 frankly eastern 

 standpoint. 



Next after 

 Bluebird, the com- 

 ing of Bobolink 

 marks the broadest 



Taken in Modoc County Photo by the Author 



EAGLEVILLE AND THE SURPRISE VALLEY, LOOKING EAST 



WHERE THE BOBOLINKS NESTED IN 1912 



138 



