List of Birds of Finney County, Kansas. 



BY H. W. MENKE. 



Finney county lies in the western and dryer portion of the State. 

 As a matter of course its bird-fauna does not comprise a great num- 

 ber of species, but is made up of an abundance of the few species 

 adapted to the local conditions, and of the stragglers taken during 

 migration. Especially is this fact noticeable in the absence of the 

 arboreal warblers and sparrows and of certain water-birds as breeders. 

 That this may be better understood, the topography of the locality in 

 question should be considered. 



The Arkansas river flows through the county from the west, divid- 

 ing it into two divisions. The portion lying north of the river is the 

 larger. This part, other than the river valley, is chiefly of prairies, 

 the exception being a series of sand-stone bluffs in the southeast 

 corner and a group of sand-hills near the center. The southern 

 division is nearly all sand-hills with little variation. The western 

 half of the river valley is partially wooded with medium-sized cotton- 

 wood; while, where water is obtainable, the majority of land-owners 

 have planted groves of fruit and other trees, the rapid growth of which 

 is fast overcoming the chief drawback to an increased variety of 

 birds. 



Seasonal rainfall causes considerable fluctuation in the presence of 

 birds. Heavy rains early in the spring fill the prairie lakes and 

 convert more or less of the river-bottom into swamps. Such condi- 

 tions invite large numbers of water-birds: geese, ducks, snipes, etc., 

 which remain several weeks. On the other hand a lack of jain 

 reverses these conditions with the result of an evident lessening of 

 numbers among certain species and a total absence of others which 

 may have been abundant the previous year. Its western location 

 makes Finney county a favorable place for catching stragglers of those 

 species which have a western range. Three of these I am able to 

 add as new species to the Kansas list. They are: 



House Finch {Carpodiciis mexicauns frontalis), Louisiana Tanager 

 {Fira/iga liidoviciaua) and Oregon Robin {Hcspcrociclila lucvia). 

 Besides these three of western range I have taken one of eastern 

 range, also new to the state — Black-throated Blue Warbler {De?i- 



(129) KAN. UNIV. QUAR., VOL. Ill, NO. 3. OCT., 189-1. 



