52 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 10-No. 4 



almost local in its character, the whole of its 

 effect may he felt in a single night, but usually it 

 oecni)ies the whole of two (lays and often three 

 or four. Nor must we think that the same bird 

 wave nuist include at all places the same species 

 of birds. We have spoken above of the "birds 

 of the fourtli wave," but we referred, of course, 

 to the birds which at St. Louis were moving at 

 Ibis time. The Ducks which arrived at Heron 

 Lake, March 24th. were as truly a jiart of the 

 "fifth wave" as the Brown Thrush and Bewick's 

 Wren wliich came to St. Louis on the 22d. 



The rest of March is not characterized by any 

 specially great wave. There is a steady advance 

 until about April 1st, when over all of tlie norlli- 

 ern Mississippi Valley occur snow storms which 

 put a stop to migration for more than a weelc. 



Kansas Bird-life. 



BY PROF. D. E. L.VNTZ. 



The State of Kansas occupies the middle of the 

 continent, and extends east and west 410 miles. 

 Its elevation varies from 750 feet in the east, to 

 .'5,500 feet in the extreme west. The eastern jior- 

 tion is wooded along the streams, while the 

 western section is an elevated, treeless i)lain. The 

 iiri-fannd is rich and varied, and presents some 

 l)cculiar features to the student of Ornithology. 

 It is eastern in its essential features; and j'et 

 there are many evidences that the State is the 

 borderland which separates the bird-life of the 

 Atlantic region from that of the far west. Indeed, 

 there are some species that are really typical of 

 the Pacific coast region ; while on the high west- 

 ern parts of the State, the bleached and faded 

 forms of the great interior plateau arc recog- 

 nized. 



The area of the State is so extensive and tlie 

 number of workers in the field of Ornithology is 

 so small, that many new discoveries are possible 

 and even probable. This fact keeps the student 

 ever upon the alert, and adds very much to his 

 interest in the work. Then there arc innumer- 

 able peculiarities in tlic distribution of our birds, 

 peculiarities which are as puzzling as they are 

 interesting to the observer. For instance, in a 

 residence of several years at Manliattan but one 

 Kose-breasted Grosbeak has been seen, by the 

 writer; while at Clay Center, forty miles north- 

 west of Manhattan, he found them conunon in 

 July, and breeding. TJiis is only one of hundreds 

 of iHizzling questions which present themselves 

 to the student of birds in this State. 



The topographical features of the coimtry ren- 

 der the study of ila fdiina less diflicult than in 

 manv of the States. There are no mountains to 



climb or extensive swamps to wade in search of 

 the birds. Instead, we have the vast prairie and 

 the restricted timber belts along our streams. 

 It is in the latter that birds are most easily found. 

 Nowhere in our eastern States are birds so nu- 

 merous, Here, on a bright Winter morning, by a 

 few minute's walk, one can find Goldfinches, 

 Tree-sparrows, .Inncos, and Robins by tliousands, 

 while Cardinal Redbirds, S(mg-sparrows, Chicka- 

 dees, and Woodpeckers will seem to start from 

 every bush. Or, if one visit the same place at the 

 height of the Spring migration, the woods will 

 ring with the songs of liundreds of Wood-thrushes, 

 Warblers, and Vircos; while Lincoln's Finch 

 and the Clay-colored Sparrow will flit from every 

 thicket along tlie borders of the woods. 



The secret of this abundance of birds seems to 

 be in the restricted area of forest ; and j'cl every 

 orchard and garden seems, at the same time, to 

 overflow with bird-life. And on the great green 

 jirairie every weed and bush seems to be crowned 

 in springtime by a vocalist in the form of a 

 Black-throated Bunting, a Western Meadow-lark, 

 or that ridiculously ambitious songster, the Yel- 

 low-winged Sparrow. 



Aside from this abundance of individual birds, 

 the number of species and races found in the State 

 is (piite large. Col. N. S. Goss, has catalogued 

 ;j24. When it is remembered that the water fowl 

 of the sea-coast are entirely lacking, this large 

 number is an excellent proof of the careful work 

 of such observers as the Colonel, Prof F. II. Snow 

 of Lawrence, and Dr. L. Watson of Ellis. 



The first attempt to catalogue the birds of our 

 State was in 1872, by Prof. Snow. This list was 

 twice revised and changed. The third edition 

 was published in 1875. This enumerated 295 

 species, a number of which, although inserted 

 upon seemingly good authority, would undoubt- 

 edly be omitted should a new edition be issued. 

 Seven additional species were added to Prof. 

 Snow's list in a paper read before the Kansas 

 Academy of Sciences in 1878. 



Col. N. S. Goss, the noted Western Orintholo- 

 gist, issued a catalogue of our birds in 1883. This 

 is in every sense a complete list, as far as the 

 knowledge of our birds at "that time woidd per- 

 mit. Four varieties have been added since its 

 publication. These were reported by Col. Goss 

 in the first number of " the .\uk," Vol. I. In 

 this list a number of those enumerated by Prof. 

 Snow have been omitted for want of actual 

 proof of their occurrence in the State. On the other 

 hand, the Colonel has paid a high compliment to 

 the Professor by retaining a number ba.sed solely 

 upon the authority of his catalogue of 1875. 

 Nearly all of those omitted will jirobably yet be 



