Nov., 1904 I 
THE CONDOR 
169 
Wyoming. While the region is not mountainous the flora and fauna certainly 
tend toward mountainous forms. On the whole it is perhaps the most interesting 
section of the state for bird work. Nearly every summer a party of Nebraska bird 
people spend some little lime there in studying bird life and collecting bird skins. 
As yet, however, owing to the distance from the center of ornithological activities 
the region has not been thoroughly w'orked. With the exception of two weeks in 
February of 1896 the work done has been confined to late spring and early sum- 
mer time, thus leaving nearly all of the spring and all of the fall migrations un- 
recorded. When these and also the winter residents are thoroughly known it is 
safe to say that the geographical range of many species will be extended and that 
a number of species will be added to the already large Nebraska list. 
The topography of the section is peculiar. Hat Creek valley, whicli com- 
prises a large part of the county, is bordered on the south and west by high bluffs, 
and is about one hundred miles across. During the summer it is about as dry and 
hot a place as one would care to be in. Except along the almost dry water 
courses there is scarcely any vegetation to be seen. The geological formation in 
some parts of the valley is much like that of the famous Bad Lands of South 
Dakota. In the section on the northwest side there is considerable sage-brush 
and other vegetation. In the dryer parts the common birds are the Say phoebe 
and the Arkansas kingbird. In the sage-brush section bird life is more numerous; 
good sized bands of sharp-tailed grouse and an occasional bunch of sage grouse 
will be seen. Other species, in all about thirty, make their homes there. As we 
come nearer to the bluffs the entire nature of the country changes; the streams are 
rather thickly bordered with shrubs and other plants, w'ater flows the year through, 
and bird life also becomes more abundant. As we follow one of the little creeks 
into the canyon from which it emerges we are more and more impressed by the 
entire. change of the surroundings. The walls of the canyon tower in places 
almost perpendicularly 500 feet, and where not too steep they are covered with a 
scattering growth of yellow pine, the fallen leaves of which cover the ground so 
thickly that it is exceedingly difficult to climb the side of the canyon. The bot- 
tom of the canyon is filled wdth a dense growth of trees and under-brush, and if it 
were not for an occasional path, traveling there would be very difficult. The 
trees are very similar in species to those found throughout the canyon region of 
the Rocky Mountains and comprise such forms as the quaking asp, juniper, poplar, 
black birch and many others that need not be listed. After following the many 
turns of the stream for three or four miles the summit of the bluffs is reached, and 
again the flora changes. The ground is covered with a thick growth of range 
grass; no bushes nor trees can be seen except a pine or two at the head of the can- 
yon. Looking backward we see below us the dry, parched, Hat Creek valley ex- 
tending as far as the eye can see toward the nortli and in the far distance can be 
discerned the faint blue line of the Black Hills over a hundred miles away. 
By those who know California Coast Range conditions it will be seen that only 
in respect to the canyons are the tw'o localities similar. The Hat Creek valley 
corresponds to the fertile Pajaro Valley so famous in the state. The vegetation is 
entirely different; redwoods replace pines and many other plants are just as differ- 
ent. Climatic conditions are also very different; in Nebraska it is not uncommon 
for the temperature to drop as low as 40 degrees below zero, in the Pajaro valley 
20 degrees above zero is about as cold as it ever gets. But let us look at the 
bird life. 
In this comparison I have included only those birds on which I have secured 
notes. The California list covers a much longer time than that of Nebraska, from 
