302 



He writes of the wild fowl coming each spring to the prairie ponds 

 "in countless thousands", a number of them remaining to breed. 

 Prairie chickens were numerous, as well as some other prairie verte- 

 brates that are now very scarce. Snakes, including rattlesnakes, were 

 verv prevalent. In all probability the latter are now exterminated on 

 the prairies in the part of Illinois which includes Charleston. 



Robert Ridgway gives an interesting account of the bird life of 

 a piece of prairie near Olney, some forty miles south of Charleston.* 

 Ninety-five species were observed by him. Some of these not now 

 existing about Charleston, unless in very small numbers, are Hens- 

 low's bunting, black terns, marsh wrens (both species), ravens, 

 swallow-tailed kites, and blue kites. His description makes it very 

 evident that no bit of uncultivated prairie-land like the one of this 

 study can at present have a bird fauna of the same aspect as that of 

 the prairies as they used to be in this part of the country. 



The vertebrate fauna of Station I was of a composite nature in 

 that it was made up of aquatic, semi-aquatic, woodland, and prairie 

 forms. It was somewhat surprising to find the prairie forms com- 

 paratively scarce. For example, the prairie birds (those that feed and 

 breed in the open field) were for the most part absent at Station I. 

 Examples of these, scarce or absent at Station I but common in the 

 Charleston region, are the meadov\'lark, horned lark, grasshopper 

 sparrow, savanna sparrow, dickcissel, bobolink, upland plover, and 

 pectoral sandpiper. 



The piece of right-of-way appeared to be visited by birds some- 

 what incidentally in going to and from places more attractive to them 

 in the neighborhood, — the corn fields, the bit of swamp, and the row 

 of cherry trees. The feature of the right-of-way that brought most 

 of the birds there seemed to be the telegraph wires, for these formed 

 perches and convenient lookouts. Furthermore, whenever standing 

 water, another attractive feature, appeared at the station, aquatic 

 forms were quick to visit it. 



The abundance of ^•aried herbage, with its edible fruits, seeds, 

 and many insect associates, did not appear to be an important factor 

 in determining the character of the vertebrate life of Station I. This 

 was probably due to disturbing features at the place, to its small area, 

 and to better feeding-grounds near by. 



Bates woods (Station II) was a very desirable piece of woods for 

 our study because of its primitive state and the fact that it presented 

 three kinds of forest conditions, each with a rather distinct fauna. 



*Prairie Birds of Southern Illinois, American Naturalist, 1873, pages 197-203. 



