MICHIGAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 
103 
of Cones’ Key to N. Am. Birds as an incentive to the writing of a paper on 
an ecological subject. I also wish to thank Dr. Chas. C. Adams for his many 
valuable suggestions and advice in the prepartion of this paper. 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE REGION. 
The area studied, as before stated, consists of about 60 acres situated at 
the bend in the river lying west and southwest of the Highland Cemetery. 
From the cemetery, situated about 100 feet above the level of the river, an 
excellent view of the bayou may be had (Fig. 1). The river at this point 
is about 15 feet deep and bordered by mud fiats for the most part heavily 
overgrown with water plants. Extending back from the river a distance 
of about 160 yards lies a low strip of land overgrown with flags and sedges 
in the more moist portions, and forming a meadow on the drier ground. 
Bordering the river for about half the distance is a thick growth of brush 
edged by good sized willows. Between this and the swampy meadow lies a 
strip of shallow open water. Extending back to the bluffs lies another belt 
of scrubby willows and low brush. As the bluffs rise at an angle of about 
35 degrees to a height of 70 feet above the meadow they offer a decided 
contrast in environment to the swamp below. The geography of the region 
is almost entirely glacial, the cemetery bluff being a portion of an old sand 
bar left by Lake Maumee, the first of the series of large glacial lakes formed 
in this region on the retreat of the ice sheet. The weathering of this bluff 
is very rapid in times of heavy rain and much of the flat meadow land at 
its base has been formed from it. 
The Soils: “The distribution of surface soils is important because of the 
relations existing between soil types and plant societies.” The flood plain 
is composed fundamentally of compact till with areas of peaty earth about 
the center and between the ponds and bluffs. An outwash of sand is found 
at the northwest and southeast. A long ridge of mineral soil extends from the 
northwest along the stream to the marsh at the bayou. Humus is found 
everywhere except on the washed slopes of the bluffs. At the east a strip 
of sand borders the bluff, in which seepage springs frequently occur. 
Soil Water: Areas of extreme dryness may be found along the brink of the 
steeper bluffs, the moisture steadily increasing toward the base of the slope. 
Around the springs at the base of the bluff it is often so moist that one will 
sink up to the ankles in the soft soil. The water of the bayou is quite cool 
from the constant percolation of spring water from the bluffs. The ridges 
are usually moist although free from all surface water. In order that a detailed 
study may be made of the relations existing between birds and their environ- 
ments, the region is divided into four stations. Station I., Swamp; Station 
II., Arboreal Willows; Station III., forest; Station IV., dry open meadows. 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SWAMP, STA. I. 
The general character of the swamp is open with scattered shrubby willows. 
Under this head the open marsh, the damp meadow, and the brushv low land 
extending to the base of the bluffs, are considered. The swamp covers 
about twenty acres of which the marsh (the area overgrown with rushes, 
flags, etc.) constitutes about one-half. The water usually covers the lower 
portion of the marsh from a few inches to two feet in depth, varying with 
the location and rainfall. Quantities of pondweed grow along the shallow 
border of the river and mingled with these and extending to the edge of the 
rushes we find the white water lily (C astalia adorota ); spreading back into 
