BIRD SURVEY OF PRAIRIE AREA 
389 
the table. Thus by tracing over from the name of the species 
its abundance in a given crop may be found. The list is headed by 
the Dickcissel, which was, as may be seen from the table, very 
generally distributed over the section. The English Sparrow 
stands second in rank largely because of its abundance around 
farms. The large flock of Barn and Bank Swallows already 
mentioned accounts for their position near the top of the list. 
No birds were recorded for the potato, cane, or clover fields. 
The list of thirty-three species may be regarded as a typical list 
of this locality’s summer birds. 
Table II shows the acreage of each crop and habitat. The acre- 
age is, of course, estimated, but is based upon the testimony of 
those familiar with the land. The number of birds in each habitat 
is also given, as well as the ratio of the birds to the area, and 
the number of birds per acre. Several interesting facts are shown, 
among them being the one that in the farm yards there were twice 
as many birds per acre as in the pastures. Each bird in farm 
yards had one-fifteenth of an acre to itself as contrasted with 
the birds in the corn-fields, where each bird had fifty acres to 
forage over. The table also shows that the average number of 
birds per acre, taking the entire square mile into account, was 
three-fourths of a bird per acre; or, putting it dififerently, each 
bird had an average of one and one-third acres to itself. The 
only birds found in or near corn fields were Dickcissels. The 
small number (five) seems to show that the corn was not inviting 
even to this well distributed species. 
Oats had a slightly larger number, but the average per acre 
was very small. The oats had just been harvested, and it might 
be expected that the field would contain more than the alfalfa 
fields. However, this was not the case either as to individuals 
or as to species. Large numbers of Swallows were flying over 
the alfalfa ; and Dickcissels, Field Sparrows, and Meadowlarks 
were quite numerous. Pastures were excellent feeding places. 
The average per acre in meadows was slightly larger than in the 
pastures. The bird life in the two habitats was very similar, 
however. Such birds as the Grasshopper Sparrow and Prairie 
Horned Lark were found in the meadows. The meadows were 
well adapted to the nesting of Sparrows and Larks, as well as 
to the Burrowing Owls. 
The swamp and creek were very attractive to bird life. Not 
only did birds breed there in considerable numbers, but it served 
as a shelter from the hot sun and a source of drinking water. 
