82 Tin-: W'lr.sox r)ri.Li:TiN — No. M\. 



houses. The nearest ravine is the haunt of a Killdeer whose 

 nest is somotinies found Ix-side a hill of corn ; for years a pair 

 of I'.altimore Orioles have swung- their nestlings' cradle from 

 the twigs oi a large Cottonwood in preference to a widespread- 

 insr ehu directlv across the street. Red-headed Woodpeckers 

 have tlirec nesting sites, two are in maple trees in private yards, 

 and the third is in the stuni]) of a cottonwood tree near the 

 school-house. .\ W'arhling \ireo sings from the tops of the 

 tall trees and it is difficult to locate his family nursery. 



A ]>air of ]^)lue Jays, contrary to their general reputation for 

 slnness while ])reeding, have chosen hotel life, and on? summer 

 huilt their nest in the hranches of an apple-tree overhanging 

 the garden walk. The second summer thereafter they built in 

 a small spruce tree whose boughs nearly touched the front 

 porch of the hotel. Chimney Swifts build in the chimneys of 

 the }ilethodist church and in a store building, while the White- 

 rumped Shrikes choose for raising their young the evergreen 

 trees in the cemetery and certain trees fin the County Fair 

 grounds. Hummiingbirds are not uncommon, but their nests 

 have not been found in this particular territory. 



Were our bird neighborhood described by a radius of two 

 miles the area would embrace a large grove to the westward 

 and on the east reach to the woodlands of the ^lississippi River. 

 Here are found the breeding places of Hawks, Owds, the Prairie 

 Hen, Sora, Cuckoos, Xighthawks. \\'ood Pewee, Crow. Field 

 Sparrow, Towhee, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, 

 Scarlet Tar.ager. Red-eyed \"ireo. Yellow^ Warbler, American 

 Kedstart, \\'hite-breasted Xuthatch, Bhie-gray Gnatcatcher, 

 and ])rnbably other species. 



That pestiferous nuisance, the English Sjjarrow, claims a few 

 words. In a great grain-growing region such as is Iowa he 

 thrives wonderfully, every old straw stack and straw-covered 

 shed affording nesting places for a score of his kind. His 

 ability to carry from farm to farm the germs of contagious 

 diseases of poultry and swine make him a serious menace to 

 the farmers and the children would do well to hunt sparrow 

 eggs as diligently as those of the fowds. 



In a census for July 4th, lOOC, the birds observed from my 



