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V ° L 192? VH ] Wetmore, Birds of Lake Burford, N. Mex. 221 OBSERVATIONS ON THE HABITS OF BIRDS AT LAKE BURFORD, NEW MEXICO. BY ALEXANDER WETMORE. Plates VII-IX Introduction Lake Burford, the largest natural body of water found in New Mexico, is situated in the Jicarilla (Apache) Indian Reservation in the northwestern part of the state. This lake for many years was known as Stinking Lake and is so shown on most maps, a name de- rived from the Spanish appellation, of "La Laguna Grande Hedi- onda" (so called from a spring of sulphur-tainted water near the western side). Recently the lake has been given much prominence as a possible breeding ground for water birds by various interested agencies and it was decided that it would be fitting to give it a more euphonious name. On May 3, 1918, therefore, by petition of the Southwestern Geographic Society and the New Mexico Game Protective association, it was rechristened Lake Burford, in honor of the late Miles W. Burford of Silver City, New Mexico, a gentle- man who had been prominent as a pioneer in promoting the cause of game protection in the state. The work on which the following notes are based was carried on in the interest of the Biological Survey, United States Department of Agriculture, and covered the period from May 23 to June 19, 1918. Through the kindness of Mr. H. L. Hall and Mr. C. Mc- Fadden of Chama, New Mexico, permission was received to occupy an adobe cabin at the lake, belonging to the Chama Rod and Gun Club, while Mr. P. G. Orell rendered aid in assembling needed camp equipment. I reached Chama on the afternoon of May 22, and left for Lake Burford at noon the following day after outfitting for a month's work in the field. Jimmy Barnett of Chama accom- panied me as assistant in camp. The trip to the lake, made in a Ford auto truck, required four hours, a sufficient commentary on the state of the mountain roads, as the distance travelled was only about forty miles. Visits were made to a lumber camp at El Vado for mail and supplies on May 31 and June 12, and we returned to