74 Tinker, Ornithology of Clay and Palo Alto Counties, la. LJaa. 



It will be noted that no division into grove and natural woodland 

 forms is attempted in the above grouping, and an inspection of the 

 data given in the list of species will show that this is because no 

 differences in the faunas of the two habitats are apparent. The 

 groves (which have in every instance been planted) are profoundly 

 influencing the local distribution of the woodland forms. Formerly 

 the only trees in the region were about the lakes and streams, but 

 the narrow zones of original woodland are rapidly being cleared, 

 which would probably eliminate a number of species if it were not 

 for the fact that the groves and the trees that have been planted 

 along the roads serve as refuges. As it is, there is apparently a 

 congestion of the woodland species. In one grove about one 

 hundred yards square, grouped about farm buildings, and composed 

 of low box elders and willows and well cleared of underbrush, six- 

 teen species of birds were found nesting and a number of these were 

 represented by several pairs. It is evident that the low trees, lack 

 of underbrush, and the location of this grove must have constituted 

 unfavorable conditions for nesting birds, and to these was added 

 the presence of scores of English Sparrows which also nested in the 

 trees. A more careful study would probably show further that 

 many of the woodland species are forced to the prairie for food: 

 that some of them are also forced to breed on the prairie is appar- 

 ently shown by the nesting of the Flicker, Tree Swallow, Kingbird 

 and Bluebird on the fence posts. 



List of Species.^ 



1. Podilymbus podiceps. Pied-billed Grebe. — Only a few birds 

 of this species were seen. An adult male was taken, July 29, in the rushes 

 of the east end of Elbow Lake, and on July 16 a nest with six eggs was found 

 in the same habitat. 



2. Hydrochelidon nigra surinamensis. Black Tern. — The Black 

 Tern was found in numbers. It nested in the wet marshes that form the 

 outlet to Lost Island Lake, and roamed over all of the grassland habitats. 

 Immature birds just able to fly were taken on and after Jvdy 3. 



1 As the field work covered a restricted area (Fig. 1) exact localities have often 

 been omitted in the annotations in the following list, the habitat data being 

 deemed sufficient. The dates of observations are also omitted, except in the case 

 of migrants and immature birds, nests and eggs. . 



