. Bird-lore . varying from a few inchesto several feet across, tar and gas rising from below through chimney-likeopenings. Oil or asphalt sometimes rises in a squirrel-hole that has tappeda vein. The asphalt hardens on exposure to air, and many old vents have becomehardened and ceased to flow; but in all these places a great scientific interest (296) An Ancient Bird Census in Asphaltic Petroleum 297 has developed, since it has been learned that this death-trap of the ageshas been operating for many thousands of years, and the bones of manyspecies of animals which no longer walk the earth are s
. Bird-lore . varying from a few inchesto several feet across, tar and gas rising from below through chimney-likeopenings. Oil or asphalt sometimes rises in a squirrel-hole that has tappeda vein. The asphalt hardens on exposure to air, and many old vents have becomehardened and ceased to flow; but in all these places a great scientific interest (296) An Ancient Bird Census in Asphaltic Petroleum 297 has developed, since it has been learned that this death-trap of the ageshas been operating for many thousands of years, and the bones of manyspecies of animals which no longer walk the earth are stored in its depths. That the bones of lions, tigers, elephants, camels, horses, and other largeanimals of species no longer living should be found is remarkable enough,but that the far more fragile bones of smaller creatures should be preserved isalmost beyond belief. Birds of many kinds are represented (fifty or more species have beennamed), some huge creatures now extinct, others that have come down to the. BURROWING OWL TRAPPED IN ASPHALT Copyright by Gilbert and Winter present, chiefly birds of prey which collected to feed on the bodies of un-fortunate animals and themselves became victims, such as Vultures, Eagles,Hawks, Owls, etc. Sixty per cent of the species of birds represented at La Brea are still the five Eagles but two remain, the Golden and the Bald. Of six cathartinespecies only one remains unchanged—the California Condor, then very plenti-ful, now nearly extinct. There are four Owls, including the Barn Owl and theGreat Horned Owl. The Meadowlark, Woodpeckers, Quail, and Blackbirds are not the surprises were a Stork and a Peacock, both of varieties now are also the Canada Goose and another species, Blue Heron, Sandhill 298 Bird-Lore Crane and Raven. Falcons, now belonging to tropical America, then rangedCalifornia. Of birds not found, Loye Holmes Miller, who has made a study of thisdeposit and named a dozen species never be
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