2l6 Widmann, Winter Home for Birds in Missouri. I July 



THE PENINSULA OF MISSOURI AS A WINTER HOME 

 FOR BIRDS. 



BY O. WIDMANN. 



A list of 47 species of birds, found around Cardwell, the 

 present terminus of the Buffalo Island R. R., Dunklin Co., Mo., 

 January 14-18, 1896, not only reflects the woodland character of 

 the region, but also illustrates the great advantages of heavily 

 timbered lowland for the winter sojourn of certain birds in a com- 

 paratively cold climate. 



Every winter snow covers the ground to a depth of several inches 

 for a whole fortnight, and all the watercourses, including the St. 

 Francis River itself, are closed for a like period with an ice sheet 

 several inches think. The mercury is pretty sure to go as low as 

 io°, and in severe winter even falls to — io°, but as a rule the cold 

 squalls last only a few days. 



With the exception of a narrow ridge, called Grand Prairie, 

 which separates the Little River from the St. Francis basin, the 

 whole region is covered with original forest, and farming is done 

 in clearings and deadenings, situated within this forest. On the 

 railroad line saw mills have been erected, and the best lumber, 

 especially oak, is now being cut out ; but in a region like this, where 

 lumber is so abundant, only the most valuable part of a tree is 

 sawed off and taken to the mill ; all the rest is left to decay where 

 it fell. Many trees, having been cut green, retain the dry foliage 

 throughout the winter. 



In their slow decay the huge treetops, covering several square 

 rods of ground and thus keeping off the browsing cattle, allow the 

 weeds, briars and blackberry brambles to grow in profusion. Rich 

 soil, combined with an abundance of moisture and sunlight, form 

 in a few years the most impenetrable thickets, whose depths are 

 accessible to hardly anything else but small birds, and for these 

 they afford an unexcelled resort at night and in inclement weather, 

 providing safety, shelter and food. The heavy cover protects not 

 only birds, but also vegetation and lower animal life, and the 

 carpet of green grasses, ferns and a variety of hardy plants, which 



