216 Tram. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 



ished everywhere; the Ivory-billed Woodpecker and the Ruffed 

 Grouse are gone from Western Missouri. 



On the other hand, some birds have probably increased with 

 the cutting off of the timber and the cultivation of the fields. 

 There are probably more Dickcissels and Prairie Horned Larks, 

 more Shrikes and Bluebirds now than fifty years ago. Their 

 enemies have decreased and the land suitable for breeding has 

 grown more extensive. 



Very little has been previously published about the birds of 

 Western Missouri. The following references form as complete 

 a bibliography as the author has been able to compile : 



On June 2'5, 1804, the Lewis and Clark Expedition encamped 

 for the night on an island in the Missouri River near the mouth 

 of a large creek called the Blue-water (now known as Big Blue 

 River) and on the next evening had reached a point at the con- 

 fluence of the Kansas (Kaw) where they remained for two days. 

 Here they secured game in plenty, including Deer and Wild 

 Turkey. On their return they passed this point on September 

 15, 1806, and killed an Elk and saw many Wild Turkeys. 



Thomas Say, of the Long Expedition, made an excursion 

 across Jackson County from Fort Osage (Sibley) to the Konza 

 River (Kaw), leaving the fort on August 6, 1819, and rejoin- 

 ing the main party on the Missouri, near the mouth of the 

 Platte, about September 1. He mentions the abundance of 

 game and states that here Ravens were first seen by the party. 

 He adds that in this region he saw a pretty species of Sparrow 

 that was altogether new to him. Reference is here made to the 

 Lark Sparrow which the party had discovered a short time be 

 fore further down the Missouri River at Bellefontaine. 



In the spring of 1834, Thomas Nuttall in company with Jno. 

 K. Townsend passed through Jackson County on the old Inde- 

 pendence-Westport Road on his way to the Pacific Coast. Men- 

 tion of this stage of the journey is made in the second edition 

 of his ' ' Manual, ' ' published in 1840, where the Mourning Finch 

 (now known as Harris's Sparrow) is described and the type 

 locality given as " a few miles west of Independence. ' ' 



Maximilian, Prince of Wied, had ascended the Missouri 

 River in 1833, and on his return the next spring, just 17 days 

 after Nuttall and Townsend had left Independence, he dis- 



