Nov., 1915 
CHARACTERISTIC BIRDS OF THE DAKOTA PRAIRIES 
223 
excitement of hearing Western Meadow-larks and watching Sharp-tailed Grouse 
in the potato patch, and those arctic breeders, the White-winged Scoters out 
on the lake, I found myself hoping for old western friends and new and inter- 
esting strangers; and, slow to give full weight to the fact that we were east of 
the hundredth meridian, was loth to acknowledge that the four birds whose 
songs were most continually in our ears at the farmhouse were domestic eastern 
friends — the Baltimore Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Warbling Yireo, and 
House Wren. 
These, like all the other tree-nesting birds of the treeless prairie region, 
of necessity gathered in the hardwood lake borders, but some of the species 
would normally have nested not in thick woods but in isolated trees in the open. 
The song of the Baltimore Oriole like that of the Warbling Yireo came not from 
elms on a lawn but from the edge of the narrow strip of timber between the 
farmhouse and the lake, among whose trees were old nest holes of the Golden- 
eye. The Rose-breasted Grosbeak also sang from the oak woods of this com- 
pressed nesting area where House Wrens, Catbirds, Thrashers, Cuckoos, Wood 
Pewees, Mourning Doves, Blue jays, Crows, Nuthatches, Flickers, Downy Wood- 
peckers, Long-eared Owls, Swainson Hawks, and Ferruginous Rough-legs were 
congregated. 
The owner of the woods took us down to see a Rough-leg’s nest that he had 
been noticing for years in going for his cows. On the way we visited a Long- 
eared Owl’s nest I had been watching and the interested landlord climbed the 
tree and counted the five white downy young. He also stopped at several old 
trees with well known holes in them and pounded on the trunk to see if any 
Golden-eyes were within. 
When approaching the Rough-leg’s nest we saw one of the great birds 
launch from the tree-top into the sky, where it circled slowly around as if on 
guard. Its mate was still standing on the nest, about thirty feet from the ground 
in an old oak, when we came up below; and it presented a commanding figure 
mounted on top of its huge nest. When the farmer started to climb the tree the 
great bird flew and, joining its mate, circled around overhead, but as the man 
neared its nest it circled near the tree, screaming shrilly. The nest proved to be 
about six feet high, so high that the farmer could just reach over the edge. He 
pulled out a partly eaten Richardson ground squirrel and then held up one of 
the white nestlings for us to see. Overhead the old birds circled around on set 
wings, the sunset light reddening their breasts and making a beautiful picture. 
Sometimes one of them rose and circled high in the sky. Three weeks later one 
of the Rough-legs was seen flying so low that its ferruginous legs, feathered to 
the feet, showed clearly. The young were still in the nest but almost full grown 
and fully feathered. The pellets under the tree were composed of ground squir- 
rel fur. 
The lordly birds with their huge old nest proved the appropriateness of the 
name of the farm — Hawk’s Rest — for the settlers had shown a rare apprecia- 
tion of the services of their raptorial friends. Old hawks’ nests were found at 
different places along the shore, and a second Long-eared Owl’s nest and a 
.Swainson Hawk’s nest were found not far from the Ferruginous Rough-leg’s 
tree. The .Swainson ’s nest which contained three eggs on June 14, on July 6 
had three downy young about a week old. A half-eaten Richardson ground 
squirrel was also in the nest. The Hawk flew and circled around and squealed 
when the tree was being climbed and the nest photographed. 
In the heart of the woods, Purple Martins, whose raucous notes were fre- 
