Breeding Birds of an Iowa Farm 



69 



BREEDING BIRDS OF A CLAY COUNTY, IOWA, 

 FARM. 



By Ira N. Gabrielson. 



The title of this paper is not literally accurate, as the 

 territory included parts of several farms as well as the home 

 place. The notes on which the report is based were made 

 during the summer months in the years 1907-1911 inclusive. 

 The land of the farm and surrounding territorj^ is typical 

 prairie land lying in the eastern edge of the county. It is 



XEST A.\L) EGGS OF BLACK TEKX 



gently rolling and is characterized by innumerable "kettle 

 holes," cat-tail swamps, ponds, and small lakes. Much of it 

 is still unbroken and retains a flora of native grasses and 

 flowers. The only timber in the territory covered by this 

 report consists of the artificial groves — mostly willow, maple, 

 box elder, and cottonwood — a small apple orchard on the home 

 place, and a fringe of low bushy willows along one of the 

 ponds. The remainder of the land is in native grasses, used 

 as hay, or pasture, or under cultivation, usually in corn, oats. 



