Kehraska OriiitJiolo gists' Union 53 



have been classified by R. H. Wolcott in his "Analysis of Ne- 

 braska's Bird Fauna" {antea IV, part 2, p. 48, 1909) but the 

 conditions on the Reserve present a slight variation due to the 

 proximity of the two faunal areas and the presence of a con- 

 siderable number of planted pines. The habitats may be de- 

 fined as follows: 



A.— SANDHILLS (UPPER SONORAN). 



I. Open Coventry. 



a. Grassland.- The greatest portion of the area embraced by 

 this paper is of this type. It is a succession of hills and 

 hollows, the latter of varying size and depth, very fre- 

 quently much elongate or more or less connected with 

 other hollows in almorst continuous succession for some 

 distance, with the closed valleys thus formed separated 

 from corresponding valleys to the northward or south- 

 ward by similarly extending ranges of hills. In general, 

 • however, the conformation is irregular. No running 

 water occupies the region. The soil is sand with a char- 

 acteristic vegetation of Bunch-grass {Andropogon scopar- 

 ius), yucca, cacti of several species and other plants. The 

 birds which breed in this area are the Upland Plover, 

 Prairie Chicken, Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse, Burrowing 

 Owl, Mourning Dove , Desert Horned Lark, Western 

 Meadowlark, Western Vesper Sparrow, Western Grass- 

 hopper Sparrow and Western Lark Sparrow. Five of 

 these ten were not found breeding elsewhere — the Prairie 

 Chicken, Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse, Mourning Dove, 

 Western Vesper Sparrow and Western Grasshopper Spar- 

 row; the rest were noted in the river valley either breed- 

 ing or in situations which gave strong probability of their 

 doing so. 



b. Sandy Wastes.- Most of these are blowouts or sand pits 

 scooped out of the hills, usually on the southwestern slope. 

 The point ornithologically interesting is the fact that the 

 rotary action of the wind in forming these blowouts has 

 cut the sand from one side, perhaps more commonly the 

 southwestern one, and left it more or less sheer and hard- 

 packed in contrast to the opposite slope of loose sand. 

 This firm bank is used by the Belted Kingfisher and 

 Rough-winged Swallow to hold their horizontal burrows 

 when no suitable places are available along the river 



