Harris Birds of the Kansas City Region. 



OPORORNIS PHILADELPHIA (Wilson). Mourning Warbler. 

 Regular but not numerous migrant. 



The ten available records of the local occurrence of this 

 warbler are between May 13th and 23rd. They have been noted 

 in the Missouri bottoms and bluff timber, in Swope Park, and 

 in the Country Club region. Their presence here on the return 

 flight has thus far been overlooked. 



GEOTHLYPIS TRICHAS TRICHAS (Linn.). Maryland Yellow- throat. 



Very common summer resident. 



The Yellow-throats arrive regularly between the 23rd and 

 29th of April (April 19, 1914, only earlier date). These early 

 arrivals announce their presence first from the bottom lands, but 

 are soon scattered over the uplands as well. From May 5th to 

 10th the greatest numbers are present in the willow thickets 

 along the Missouri River. 



The breeding birds are evenly distributed over the county 

 and may be looked for along all water courses, even ditches, and 

 in any damp woods or low bushy places. They nest within the 

 city in Swope Park, along the Blue and Brush Creek Valleys, 

 in the Country Club and Rockhill regions, in the cemeteries and 

 along Cliff Drive. They nest about the middle of May and lay 

 from four to six eggs. 



The fall migration begins during the first days of September 

 and continues through the month, very few birds being seen 

 during the last week. 



ICTERIA VIRENS viRENS (Linn. ) . Yellow-breasted Chat. 

 Common summer resident. 



Like several of the warblers, the earliest Chats are to be 

 looked for in the thick tangles of the Missouri bottoms where 

 the bulk of the migrants pass. These forerunners appear regu- 

 larly between the 24th and 29th of April. By the 5th to 10th 

 of May the crest of the migration wave is passing. 



This warbler inhabits thickets, briar tangles, bushy ravines, 

 second-growth timber, burnt-over hillsides and all kinds of 

 brushy undergrowths. Three to six eggs are laid late in May. 



The Chat is something of a skulker, but is occasionally caught 

 at his clownish antics. A good place to hear the indescribable 

 song of this species is in the neighborhood of the rifie range 

 meadow in Swope Park. 



