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146 THE CONDOR Vol. XXI The extreme west end of Fernan Lake (see CoNI)OR, xvII, pp. 119, 122) narrows down and forms what is, during the early part of the season, the out- let for the spring overflow caused by the melting of snow from the surrounding hills. The amount of the water depends on the snow that has accumulated dur- ing the winter months, and usually covers the small meadow {fig. 26) to a depth of one to two feet. As the overflow recedes, generally by the middle of May, the various forms of plant life take on their growth activities. Beginning with the higher bank which is the limit of the overflow (foreground, fig. 26) is a fringe of wild rose bushes (Rosa ,tutkana) intermingled with Spirea men- ziesii, black haw (Crataegus douglasii) and serviceberry bushes, further to the right and left becoming a dense thicket, overshadowed by a grove of quaking Fig. 26. NESTIi?O HAUNT OF THE MERRILL SONG SPARROW; i?EAR COEUR D'ALENE, IDAHO, MAY 15, 1918. asp (Populus tremuloides) and a few cottonwood trees. These deciduous trees and bushes form a fairly hei?vy humus which harbors a' host of insect life and constitutes the principal feeding ground for the several pairs of Song Sparrows which are nesting near by. The small open meadow is covered with a rank growth of several species of sedge, the dry blades and culms of which form the bulk of the outer nest.material; it matches up closely with the dry clumps of similar material that have lodged in the larger spirea bushes and wil- lows from previous overflows and makes it an easy matter to overlook nests be- came of this striking resemblance. Scattered through the opening are clumps and single bushes of spirea which is the shrub preferred for the location of the first nest of the season. Then comes a fringe of small narrow-leafed willows (Salix geyeriana), these