KEYES AND WILLIAMS — BIRDS OF IOWA. I I 3 



PRELIMINARY ANNOTATED CATALOGUE 

 OF THE BIRDS OF IOWA. 



BY CHARLES R. KEYES AND H. S. WILLIAMS, M.D. 

 Read before the Academy, December JO, l88j. 



In presenting the following catalogue of the Birds of Iowa it is pro- 

 posed to offer a preliminary statement of a more extended account of 

 the birds of the State, now in course of preparation. It is hoped that 

 Iowa students and collectors who are interested in ornithology, and in- 

 to whose hands this paper may fall, will give all possible aid both by 

 furnishing notes and local lists, and by the loan of such specimens as 

 may be desired for examination. It should be borne in mind that only 

 such species are inserted as have come under the personal observations 

 of the writers; and, for the most part, skins or mounted specimens of 

 the species herein enumerated, are to be found in their collections. 

 While there have been species observed which it has been hitherto im- 

 possible to secure, it has been thought advisable not to list them until 

 there is material in the collections which would corroborate any state- 

 ments made in regard to them. For this reason a number of forms 

 which, in all probability, occur within the limits of the State have not 

 been mentioned. 



The observations, of which the present paper is a resume, were made 

 chiefly in the vicinities of Charles City, Des Moines, and Iowa City ; 

 and these have been supplemented by notes made by the writers at 

 various times in different parts of the State. The dates of arrivals and 

 departures are based entirely upon studies conducted in the vicinage of 

 Des Moines. Although possessed of extended notes from other parts 

 of the State upon the appearance in the spring and departure in the 

 fall of the various species of birds, the notes from Des Moines have 

 been exclusively used because of its central location in Iowa, and, 

 therefore, representing nearly a mean for the arrivals and departures 

 over the whole State. 



The nomenclature and classification is that adopted by the American 

 Ornithologists' Union, in its check list of North American Birds. Ref- 

 erence, by number, is also made to Baird's Catalogue of North Ameri- 

 can Birds, 1858, (B); Ridgway's Catalogue of 1881, (R); Coues' 



[Pkoc. D. A. N. S„ Vol. V.J 15 [October 1, 1888. ] 



