330 Bent, Xcsthig Habits of Anatidte in N. Dakota. \-^^ 



son's and Krider's Hawks, the largest of them seldom growing to 

 over 40 or 50 feet in height. In these narrow belts of timber 

 bird-life fairly swarmed ; Bronzed Crackles were by far the most 

 abundant in certain sections and Mourning Doves were abundant 

 everywhere. Arkansas Kingbirds, always noisy and quarrelsome, 

 made themselves universally conspicuous, and the lively song of 

 the Western House Wren was constantly heard in the timber. 

 Common Kingbirds, Black-billed Cuckoos, Baltimore Orioles, 

 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Purple Martins and Yellow Warblers 

 were common and evenly distributed throughout the timber. 

 Clay-colored Sparrows were very common about the edges of the 

 timber, nesting in the ' badger brush ' or ' buck brush ' which is 

 the commonest shrub in this region. Cowbirds were also very 

 abundant on the prairie near the timber and laid their eggs in all 

 the smaller birds' nests. Many other species were less commonly- 

 noted, but space will permit the mention of only the most char- 

 acteristic species. 



In the sloughs the bird-life was not as rich in species, but 

 fully as rich in individuals. The larger sloughs are shallow lakes 

 with open water in the deeper, central portions and in the shal- 

 lower parts, where the water is from one to three feet deep, over- 

 grown with tall rank reeds or sedges, often higher than a man's 

 head, and with thick patches of cat-tail flags. The smaller 

 sloughs are often entirely overgrown with reeds and flags, show- 

 ing open water only in small scattered patches or in the deeper 

 channels. The two characteristic species of the sloughs are the 

 Yellow-headed Blackbirds and the American Coots. The Black- 

 birds fairly swarmed in all the sloughs and the constant din of 

 their monotonous notes soon became very tiresome. The Coots 

 were constantly playing about in the water among the reeds, 

 amusing us with their curious antics. Pied-billed Grebes nested 

 in the more open portions of the sloughs among the scattered 

 reeds, and Black Terns were constantly hovering overhead. Bit- 

 terns and Night Herons were occasionally seen, Virginia and 

 Sora Rails nested in the short grass around the shallower edges 

 of the sloughs ; Killdeers, Marbled Godwits, Western Willets 

 and Wilson's Phalaropes were flying about the shores and were 

 probably nesting not far off. 



