185^ 



From the south other forms are ranging into our limits. The lilack 

 Vulture (Catharista atratai was found liy Audubon in southern Indiana. 

 From 18.j4 to ISTO. it was not reported from the Ohio Valley. It was next 

 noted in Indiana in 18Ti» (Quick. J. C. S. N. H. 1881. p. 341). It is 

 now reeognized as a resident in some numbers in the lower Wabash and 

 Whitewater valleys, and is found in I'egularly increasing iiunilu'rs in the 

 southern third of the State. Bewick's Wren (Thryothorus bewickiil is 

 slowly spreading ovei- the same district (Trans. Ind. Hort. Soc. 189. 

 p. 0!»i. It soon 1)ec(inies acciuainted with man and takes up its abode 

 aliout his home. In tliat I'egion. it becomes the House Wren, replacing 

 the larger Carolina "\\'ren (Thryothorus ludovlcianusi which has. latterly, 

 to a great extent, left tlie vicinity of man's structures ami inhabits the 

 thickets and the undei-bnish df the more open woods. These are not 

 to be confused with tlie smaller Short-tailed Wren, the true H(mse Wren 

 (Troglodytes jedoni. that breeds in central and northern Indiana. Other 

 birds, also, have cliaiiged their habits. The Purple ^lartin (Progne 

 sniiis). P.arn Swallow (Clielidoii erythrogasteri and Phcebe (Sayornis 

 phubel have generally sought after otlier breeding sites than the cliffs 

 and bluffs where the white men first found their nests. Tlie Clumney 

 Swift ((Tuetnra pelagicai now prefers an unused chimney to a liollow 

 tree. We have become so accustomed to these sociable Iiirds that it is 

 hard to realize that they have not always been dwellers with man about 

 his home. Some of them, most notably the Eave Swallow (Petrochelidon 

 lunifronsi and the Purple Martin, have been the birds mo-;t persecaited 

 by the European House Sparrow (Passer domesticusi. generally called 

 "English Sparrow." They have made use of the nests of the foinier: 

 have occupied the sites of the latter. The result is that comparatively 

 few of either of these liirds are h'ft with us. 



INFLUENCE OF RIVERS. 



The rivers of Indiana penetrate the State from different directions, and 

 each has its iutluence. be it greater or less, upon the distribution of life. 

 The most prominent streams are the Wabash and its trilmtaries. and the 

 Whitewater and Kankakee. Lake Michigan totiches our limits: and its 

 effect is likewise felt. The extension southward into the upland meadows,, 

 between the water courses, of the birds of the open prairies, and the 



