410 
The winter data of our pasture area of nearly 500 acres are espe- 
cially interesting and much more satisfactory than those just discussed, 
the only important irregularity being excessive numbers of prairie horned 
larks (186 to the square mile in central [linois as compared with north- 
ern and southern, which are 14 and 80 respectively). It is true that the 
tree sparrows were more abundant to the northward and juncos to the 
southward, but this is consistent with the winter distribution of the 
species, the juncos going as far to the south as the Gulf States and the 
tree sparrows tending to linger in the latitude of Kentucky and the 
Carolinas. Otherwise the numbers of the more abundant species are 
fairly similar in central and northern Illinois, only the chickadee being 
notably commoner in the northern section. That quails, flickers, meadow- 
larks, purple finches, cardinals, and bluebirds should be much the most 
numerous in southern Illinois pastures was to be expected for various 
reasons—the greater abundance of birds in general to the southward, 
the usual avoidance of rigorous winter weather by meadowlarks, cardi- 
nals, and bluebirds, the much larger area in forests in southern Illinois, 
and the more abundant ground-cover of kinds sought by the quail. 
For the state as a whole, we found birds of the winter pasture 
prominent in about the following order: goldfinch, prairie horned lark, 
English sparrow, junco, crow, tree sparrow, purple finch, chickadee, 
meadowlark, quail, and bluebird, in averages ranging from 133 to the 
square mile for the first to 8 for the last of this series. 
NUMBERS PER SQUARE MILE OF THE PRINCIPAL WINTER BIRDS IN PASTURES 
" Southern Central Northern 
Species Illinois Illinois | Illinois State 
Quail 56 0 0 9 
Turkey vulture 21 0 0 3 
Flicker 21 7 0 6 
Prairie horned lark $020} 186 14 97 
Crow 14 22 36 27 
Meadowlark | 59 0 0 9 
Purple finch 108 0 0 16 
English sparrow 0 45 40 36 
Goldfinch 0 167 149 133 
Tree sparrow 7 5 55 27 
Slate-colored junco 87 41 0 31 
Cardinal 14 10 0 7 
Chickadee 0 6 | 21 11 
Bluebird 45 0 bY 8 
Total 512 489 315 420 
* Only trivial numbers. 
Meadows differ from pastures in our winter record in the smaller 
number of birds per square mile (319 as compared with 446); in the — 
smaller number also of the more abundant species (6 and 10 respectively) 
