120 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XV 
in the lee of a strip of willow scrub, combating the wind and preparing specimens. 
We heard some Fulvous Tree-ducks while here, and saw half a dozen Farallon 
Cormorants, many Ruddies, a few Redheads {Mania americana) and quite a 
number of unidentified ducks. 
An early start the next morning- enabled us to reach Los Angeles before 
nine o’clock. 
NOTES ON CERTAIN KANSAS BIRDS 
By ALEX WETMORE 
T he effect of the severe winter of 1911-12 on bird life in eastern Kansas 
is shown by the great scarcity the past fall (1912) of Dryobates p. medi- 
anus, heretofore one of the most common birds. In the vicinity of Law- 
rence, from October 12 until November 10, only three of these birds were seen, 
while in previous years it was nothing unusual to see thirty, forty or even more 
during a day spent along the streams, and in the creek bottoms. After the tenth 
of November, at which time weather conditions became more severe in the north, 
the cold extending even to Kansas, these birds became fairly common again, mi- 
grants arriving from the north to spend the winter in the comparatively warm 
climate of this region. 
From these observations we may deduce that, in the area under discussion, 
there are two groups or “races” in the subspecies Dryobates p. mediamis : the 
one purely resident and local, and the other composed of migrants from the 
north, each being distinct, though inseparable apparently in terms of color or rel- 
ative measurements. The local, or strictly resident, downy woodpeckers then 
were almost exterminated by the long-continued cold, protracted storms, when 
the trees were sheathed in an icy coat, and deep snows of the winter, while the 
northern birds found in this region merely as winter visitants — birds that of ne- 
cessity must be considered stronger and more hardy — escaped with fewer mor- 
talities, and were in the spring enabled to return northward and recoup their 
numbers. 
It was interesting also to observe the change in relative abundance in the 
larger woodpeckers. Dryobates v. villosiis, usually found in small numbers, was 
actually common, and Colaptcs a. lutcus likewise had greatly increased . Centurus 
caroliniis on the other hand had decreased, being absent from many localities 
where it was formerly common. The latter is here a strictly resident species, 
there being no change in its relative abundance between winter and summer, 
while the other two species have their numbers considerably augmented by mi- 
grant birds from the north in the late fall. The larger Dryobates and Colaptcs, 
tlien, seem better able to cope with the stringent conditions imposed upon them 
and even to increase, perhaps in the case of the Hairy Woodpecker, through being- 
relieved of competition with the smaller species of the same genus. 
Certain other species were affected noticeably also, for example Thryothorus 
ludoviciannf. Since 1905, when observations were begun by the -writer in the 
in-iraediate vicinity of I^awrence, this species has been increasing in numbers, 
pushing back into the hills, following the brush-covered creek banks, and dry 
ravines, and steadily, year by year, encroaching upon new territory. During- the 
