A LIST OF THE BIRDS OBSERVED IN CLAY AND 
O’BRIEN COUNTIES, IOWA. 
IRA N. GABRIELSON. 
Clay and O’Brien counties lie in a section of Iowa which; has 
received little attention from ornithologists. O’Brien is the 
more westerly; it is the second from the western boundary of the 
state, with Clay county adjoining it on the east ; and each lies 
within one county of the Minnesota state line. 
The following list of the birds observed in these counties is 
based on notes made through a number of years and is by no 
means, complete. Previous to 1907 the writer lived at Sioux 
Rapids, which is just south of Clay county, and made from there 
numerous trips into that county. The period from February, 
1907, to September, 1908, was spent in this county on a farm 
near Webb. Later, notes were made on summer and holiday 
trips during which Webb in Clay and Sheldon in O’Brien county 
were visited more than any other points, although many other 
parts received some attention. 1 Unfortunately, many of the 
notes previous to 1909 were accidentally destroyed and this has 
made necessary the omission of some species from this paper. 
A migration season spent in the Little Sioux valley would un- 
doubtedly have added many species to the list. The number of* 
warblers and other migrants added during the few days spent 
in Sheldon in May of different years is an indication of what 
might be expected. Plans for this work had been made but cir- 
cumstances have rendered the possibility of their fulfillment re- 
mote. The only excuse offered for publishing an admittedly in- 
complete list lies in the fact that conditions have changed so 
much in this territory since 1912 that the completion of the 
work is no longer possible. The region has been so rapidly 
' VTlie, following are the dates and principal points visited on each trip: 
Webb, Clay county, June 10-Sept. 1, 1909 ; Webb, Nov. 23-26, 1909 ; Webb, 
Dec. 18, 1909-Jan. 3, 1910; Webb, March 26-April 9, 1910 ; Sheldon and 
Hartley, O’Brien county, and Everly, Clay, April 9-12, 1910 ; Sheldon, May 
14-16, 1910 ; Webb, June 11-Oct. 1, 1910 ; Clay county north of Sioux 
Rapids, Oct. 1-Nov. 30; Webb, Nov. 30, 1910-Jan. 30, 1911; Webb, April 
8-15, 1911 ; Granville (near the O’Brien county line but lying in Sioux 
county), Paulina, O’B'rien, and Peterson and Webb, Clay, June 13-20, 1911 ; 
Sheldon, May 19-22, 1912; Sheldon, Spencer and Webb, Aug. 6-17, 1)13. 
