Gatres—SuMMeER Birp Lire In ILLINO!s. 5 
them, altho that can not be deduced from this paper since the 
plant associations, themselves, formed the basis of division in 
obtaining the avian groups. 
The plant life of the region is representativ of two biotic 
provinces, the southwestern prairie province and the decid- 
nous forest province, the former of which will be taken up 
first. 
EE TIVATRIE PROV INCE: 
In this area the prairie province is represented, on the plant 
side, most extensivly by crops, fairly well by the bunchgrass 
and blowout associations and to a slight degree by eight or 
ten of the more hydrofitic associations along ditches and 
streams and at the heds of lakes. 
The larger part of the available land is under cultivation in 
corn, rye, oats, wheat, or clover. Other open land is used for 
pastur and in it oceur the bunchgrass associations. Where 
pasturing becomes too intensiv blowouts usually originate, de- 
velop and finally are recapturd by the vegetation. To a lim- 
ited extent the prairie swamp associations are present along 
sloughs and ditches, of which there are very few in this re- 
gion. The best developt examples of prairie swamp occur in 
two abandond and partly draind mill ponds in Quiver Creek, 
between the Quiver and Topeka stations of the Chicago, Pe- 
oria and St. Louis Railroad. 
BuNCHGRASS PRAIRIES. In the xerofytic prairie areas there 
seems to he plenty of small animal life, but bird life is rather 
scarce. Only a few typical prairie birds are present, and 
most of these both in point of number of species and of indi- 
viduals are sparrows. In order of abundance these are dick- 
cissels, vesper sparrows and lark sparrows. They may be 
termd the dominant species of the buncherass prairie asso- 
ciation. Nests of the vesper and lark sparrows were discov- 
erd in the bunchgrass. The dickcissel is a typical prairie 
bird which, however, is much more frequently seen along the 
roadside on fence posts, wires or hedges, from which 
elevated positions it makes known its presence to any intruder. 
