176 BIEDS 



remain with us long after the main body of their kind 

 has departed. The migration route appears to be cen- 

 tered on a north and south line running through Kansas 

 City, Omaha and the Dakotas. The bird is really Kansas 

 City's own bird, as it was first discovered in what is now 

 the confines of the present city limits. 



Nuttall, the renowned ornithologist, discovered this 

 bird in May, 1833, near the Blue River, just where the 

 Belt Line Railroad now crosses it. In 1840, Audubon saw 

 the bird near what is now Fort Leavenworth and named 

 it in honor of one of his associates, Harris's Sparrow. 

 (Fig. 96.) 



Since the discovery of oil along the Mackenzie River, 

 the tide of human migration is along the same lines as 

 that of Harris 's Sparrows. Let us hope, therefore, that 

 some observing prospector may find the breeding home 

 of the bird and thus lift the veil of mystery surrounding 

 it. 



