Page:Condor17(2).djvu/30

 92 THI CONDOR Vol. XVII Alpine. Only the upper portion of the first mentioned is represented. A very characteristic tree is the foxtail pine, Pin aristata, which seems to be much more common at timber-line than the Engelmann spruce, though the latter grows on the mountain slopes. Thepine is also common on the hills in the adjacent portion of the South Park away from the mountains proper. Lodge- pole pines, Pinus murrayana, were also common, largely, I think, as second growth after the destruction of the first forest. Along the streams was the Colorado or blue spruce, Picea pungens, but not showing the blue color of the foliage as strongly as at lower altitudes. I doubt if it grew above 10,400 feet. I had a distinguished predecessor in field work in this region in the per- son of Dr. J. A. Allen, who spent the week from July 19 to 26, 1871, at Mont- gomery, several miles above Alma, at the northeast base of Mr. Lincoln, prac- tically at the source of the South Platte, with a party from the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard College. Montgomery is now practically de- serted, a very few people living there. Dr. Allen gives a list of 36 species found by him while there. Curiously enough the present list als0 includes 36 species, but no less than 16 of these were not noted by Allen at Montgomery, one, the House Sparrow, because it had not yet traveled that far west, in fact was hardly known in the East at that date. Another, the Pink-sided Junco, because it was not the right. season, and others in my list are noted by him in his list of the birds observed in South Park, a few, indeed, at Fairplay. 'Some no doubt would be fomd at Montgomery, others probably do not reach there. The following list shows what birds were present just about the time the last of the summer residents would be leaving. I think it hardly likely that any of the birds noted were migrants from any great distance, with the excep- tion, of course, of Junco hyemalis mearnsi. I expected to find Pine Grosbeaks, Nuthatches, and Brown Creepers, but it so happened that none were seen. A few notes are included of birds observed from the train when passing through the South Park to and from Alma. Oxyechus vociferus. Killdeer. A single individual flew past me Septem- ber 27 as I was examining some beaver work in the South Platte above Alma. Lagopus leucurus leucurus. White-tailed Ptarmigan. This species was reported common above timber-line in summer. I saw it but once, when I found a flock of six September 26 in a high basin on the north slope of Buck- skin Ridge. They had begun the change from summer to winter plumage, one of them being a mottled brown and white, and the other five brown above and white below. I found them in rather an odd manner. I had killed a wood- chuck several hundred yards up the hill, and skinned it on the spot. It was noon, and wishing to wash my hands before eating lunch I went down to a little stream which flowed there. I unloaded myself of camera, field glasses, etc., pulled off my coat, had a good wash, and was taking my lunch from my coat pocket when I happened to glance across the stream and saw two Ptarmi- gan about twenty-five feet away. When I tried to approach them with the camera I flushed four more between m.e and the first two. From the way the birds flew about when I followed them up after lunch I thought they were making the basin their home, for they merely flew back and forth from one side to the other. The elevation was about 12,000 feet. Zenaidura macroura marginella. Western Mourning Dove. Seen on two occasions: September 23 I flushed one from a side-hill in Mosquito Gulch at