The birds of the deep Creek Mountains of Central Western Utah

In furtherance of a long-time survey of the avifauna of Utah the Deep Creek Mountain region of the central western part of the state was chosen as an area for intensive study. It was expected that gradients would occur in the characters of geographically variable birds between populations from the isolated ranges of the Great Basin and birds from the Wasatch Mountains to the northeast, those mountains that form the abrupt eastern margin of the Great Basin or the high plateaus of central and southern Utah. The Deep Creek region seemed most propitious fo r collecting a representation of the Great Basin races. While the analysis of the geographical variation was the main objective of the study and large series o f the variable birds were desired, in accord with the general practice of making avifaunistic studies of particular regions, samples o f other birds were taken when possible, and a study was made of the ecology of the birds of the region. Although the emphasis was on collecting, attention was paid to abundance, behavior, and life history features, as opportunity was afforded. Working out the details of the variation throughout Utah must await the accumulation o f additional material from many other locations, but in the meantime the results of the Deep Creek Mountain survey may well be placed on record to reveal the nature of the avifauna of this portion of Utah.