common resident east of the 100th meridian; to the west numbers are
reduced, although the species is by no means unusual in western Kansas.
Red-tails probably always were uncommon in western Kansas; Wolfe (1961)
reports that they were "very rare as a nesting species" in Decatur
County shortly after the turn of the 20th Century. _Breeding
schedule._--Thirty-six records of breeding span the period February 21
to April 10 (Fig. 3); the modal date of egg-laying is March 5.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 3 eggs (2.6, 2-3; 20).
Nests are placed about 40 feet high, ranging from 15 to 70 feet in
cottonwood, honey locust, osage orange, sycamore, and walnut.
=Red-shouldered Hawk=: _Buteo lineatus lineatus_ (Gmelin).--This is an
uncommon summer resident in eastern Kansas, in riparian and bottomland
timber. Nesting records are available from Leavenworth, Woodson, and
Linn counties, and red-shoulders probably also nest in Doniphan County
(Linsdale, 1928).
_Breeding season._--Eggs are laid in March and April.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 3 eggs (Davie, 1898).
Nests are placed up to 70 feet high in elms and other streamside trees.
TABLE 11.--OCCURRENCE IN TIME OF THE SUMMER RESIDENT VULTURE
AND HAWKS IN KANSAS
===============+===========================+============================
| Arrival | Departure
SPECIES +-----------------+---------+------------------+---------
| Range | Median | Range | Median
---------------+-----------------+---------+------------------+---------
Turkey Vulture | Mar. 7-Mar. 30 | Mar. 15 | Sept. 24-Oct. 28 | Oct. 5
Red-shouldered | | | |
Hawk | Feb. 10-Mar. 14 | Feb. 26 | Oct.-Dec. |
Broad-winged | | | |
Hawk | Apr. 4-Apr. 21 | Apr. 12 | Sept. 1-Oct. 20 |
Swainson Hawk | Mar. 24-Apr. 28 | Apr. 12 | Oct. 5-Nov. 2 | Oct. 11
---------------+-----------------+---------+------------------+---------
=Broad-winged Hawk=: _Buteo platypterus platypterus_ (Vieillot).--This
is an uncommon summer resident in eastern Kansas, in swampy woodland.
Specimens taken in the breeding season and nesting records are from
Shawnee, Douglas, Leavenworth, and Johnson counties; there are several
nesting records from Missouri in the bottomlands just across the river
from Wyandotte County Kansas. Occurrence in time is listed in Table
11.
_Breeding schedule._--Four records of nesting span the period April 21
to May 30, but it is likely that the egg-season is longer than this.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 3 eggs.
Nests are placed high in deciduous trees.
=Swainson Hawk=: _Buteo swainsoni_ Bonaparte.--This is a common summer
resident in prairie grassland with open groves and scattered trees.
Records of breeding are available from all parts of the State, but are
least numerous from the southeastern quarter. Occurrence in time is
listed in Table 11.
_Breeding schedule._--Sixteen records of breeding span the period
April 11 to June 10; the modal date for completion of clutches is
April 25.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 2 eggs (2.4, 2-3; 5).
Nests are placed about 35 feet high, actually ranging from 12 to 75
feet, in cottonwood, elm, willow, and honey locust. Occasionally nests
are placed on ledges in cliffs.
=Ferruginous Hawk=: _Buteo regalis_ (Gray).--This is an uncommon
resident in western Kansas, in grassland with scattered trees. Records
of nesting and specimens taken in the breeding season come from Wallace,
Hamilton, Gove, Logan, and Finney counties.
_Breeding schedule._--Five records of breeding span the period March
11 to April 30.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 3 eggs (3.3, 3-4; 4).
Nests are placed on the ground surface on small cliffs or promontories
or low (six to 10 feet) in small trees such as osage orange,
cottonwood, and mulberry.
=Marsh Hawk=: _Circus cyaneus hudsonius_ (Linnaeus).--This is a local
resident in grassland throughout Kansas. Most records of breeding come
from east of the Flint Hills, but it is not certain that the few
records from the west actually reflect a low density of Marsh Hawks in
that area.
_Breeding schedule._--Sixteen records of breeding span the period
April 11 to May 20; the modal date for egg-laying is May 5.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 5 eggs (5.2, 3-7; 14).
Nests are placed on the ground surface in grassy cover.
=Peregrine Falcon=: _Falco peregrinus anatum_ Bonaparte.--This falcon
nested, perhaps regularly but clearly in small numbers, in Kansas
prior to the 20th Century. The best documented breeding occurrence was
at Neosho Falls, Woodson County (Goss, 1891:283).
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs were recorded as being laid in February and
March.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 3 or 4 eggs (Davie, 1898).
Nests are placed relatively high on cliffs and in trees; at Neosho
Falls these birds used open cavities 50 to 60 feet high in sycamores.
=Sparrow Hawk=: _Falco sparverius sparverius_ Linnaeus.--This is a
common resident throughout Kansas, in parkland and woodland edge.
_Breeding schedule._--Thirteen records of egg-laying span the period
March 21 to May 20; the modal date of laying is not evident in this
sample but it probably falls around April 10.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 4 eggs (4.2, 3-5; 5).
Nests are placed in cavities about 16 feet high, actually 12 to 30
feet, in cottonwood, ash, maple, Purple Martin "houses," and human
dwellings.
=Greater Prairie Chicken=: _Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus_
(Brewster).--This is a locally common resident in eastern Kansas, in
and about bluestem prairie grassland, and is local in the northwest in
undisturbed plains grassland. Wolfe (1961) reports that the species
was common in Decatur County shortly after the turn of the Century,
but that it became rare by 1914.
_Breeding schedule._--Twenty-one records of breeding span the period
May 1 to June 10 (Fig. 3); the modal date for laying is May 5. The
sample indicates an abrupt inception to laying of eggs, and this may
be a reflection of timing characteristic of behavior at leks, or
booming grounds.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 12 eggs (11.7, 9-15; 17).
Nests are placed on the surface of the ground in bluestem grassland or
plains bunchgrass, usually under cover of prairie grasses and forbs.
=Lesser Prairie Chicken=: _Tympanuchus pallidicinctus_
(Ridgway).--This is a local resident in sandy grassland in
southwestern Kansas. Distribution is to the west and south of Pawnee
County.
_Breeding schedule._--There is no information on timing of the
breeding season in Kansas.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is thought to be near that of the
Greater Prairie Chicken. Vic Housholder (MS) observed a hen with ten
chicks ten miles south of Dodge City, Ford County, on June 1, 1955.
=Bobwhite=: _Colinus virginianus_ (Linnaeus).--This is a common
resident in the east, but is local in western Kansas; occurrence is in
broken woodland and other edge habitats. _C. v. virginianus_
(Linnaeus) is found northeast of stations in Nemaha, Douglas, and
Miami counties, and _C. v. taylori_ Lincoln is found in the remainder
of the State.
_Breeding schedule._--Twenty-four records of breeding span the period
May 1 to September 20 (Fig. 3); the modal date for first clutches is
May 25. The long period of egg-laying after May probably includes both
renesting efforts and true second nestings.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 13 eggs (12.8, 8-21; 22); in
the present sample 16 eggs was the most frequent number.
Nests are placed on the surface of the ground at bases of bunch
grasses, saplings, trees, or posts, under cover of prairie grasses,
forbs, or small woody plants.
=Scaled Quail=: _Callipepla squamata pallida_ Brewster.--This is a
locally common resident in southwestern Kansas, chiefly west of Clark
County and south of the Arkansas River; preferred habitat seems to be
in open, sandy prairie.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid at least in May; the egg-season in
Kansas is unlikely to be so prolonged as that of the Bobwhite; among
other factors involved, the Scaled Quail in Kansas is at a northern
extreme of its distribution, where suboptimal environmental conditions
may occur relatively frequently.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is around 10 to 12 eggs.
Nests are placed on the ground surface under woody or herbaceous
cover.
=Ring-necked Pheasant=: _Phasianus colchicus_ Linnaeus.--This
introduced resident is common in western Kansas, is local and uncommon
in the east, and is found in agricultural land with scattered woody
vegetation.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid at least in May.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 10 to 12 eggs.
Nests are placed on the surface of the ground in woody or herbaceous
cover.
=Wild Turkey=: _Meleagris gallopavo_ Linnaeus.--Turkeys formerly
occurred as common residents in flood-plain woodland in eastern Kansas,
and their distribution extended through the west in riparian woodland.
Present population in eastern and southern sectors are partly the
result of introductions of birds from Missouri by humans in the 1950s.
Turkeys in southern Kansas are also present owing to natural dispersal
along the Arkansas and Medicine Lodge rivers of birds native to and
introduced into Oklahoma. No specimens of turkeys presently found in
Kansas are available for examination but these birds probably are
referable to _M. g. silvestris_ Vieillot, the trinomen applied to
turkeys in Missouri and northeastern Oklahoma.
Turkeys from southern Texas recently have been liberated at several
localities in southern Nebraska; turkeys seen in extreme northern
Kansas are thus probably of these stocks. The name _M. g. intermedia_
Sennett is applicable to these birds.
_Breeding schedule._--No information is available on the egg-season in
Kansas; turkeys have nested in southern Kansas within recent years,
however.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is perhaps 12 eggs.
Nests are placed on the surface of the ground, usually well-concealed
under woody vegetation.
=King Rail=: _Rallus elegans elegans_ Audubon.--This summer resident is
locally common in marshlands. Nesting records or adults taken in the
breeding season are from Cheyenne, Meade, Pratt, Stafford, Cloud, Riley,
Douglas, Anderson, and Allen counties. Dates of arrival in spring are
recorded from April 7 to April 28; the median date is April 18.
Departure in autumn is possibly as early as September in the north, but
four records are in the period October 12 to November 25. The species
occasionally can be found in winter (Douglas County, December 28, 1915).
_Breeding schedule._--Fourteen records of breeding span the period May
1 to July 20; the modal date for egg-laying is June 5.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 10 eggs (9 to 12; 4 records).
Nests are placed on the surface of the ground, under grassy or woody
cover.
=Virginia Rail=: _Rallus limicola limicola_ Vieillot.--This is an
uncommon summer resident, presumably throughout the State. The one
breeding record is from Morton County (May 24, 1950; Graber and
Graber, 1951). Dates of spring arrival are from April 19 to May 18;
dates of last observation in autumn are within the period September 1
to October 30. A few birds overwinter in the southern part of the
State (Meade County, December and January).
_Breeding season._--Eggs are laid probably in May and June.
_Number of eggs._--Six to 12 eggs are laid (Davie, 1898).
Nests are placed in emergent aquatic plants, near the surface of the
water.
=Sora=: _Porzana carolina_ (Linnaeus).--This is an uncommon summer
resident in marshland. Nesting records or specimens taken in the
breeding season come from Finney, Barton, Jefferson, Douglas, and
Miami counties. First dates of observation in spring are from April 11
to May 9 (the median is May 1); dates when last observed in autumn are
from September 30 to November 9 (the median is October 18).
_Breeding schedule._--The one dated record comes from August.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is around 10 eggs (Davie, 1898).
Nests are on the ground in grassy or herbaceous cover.
=Black Rail=: _Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis_ (Gmelin).--This is
an uncommon summer resident in Kansas. Records of breeding and
specimens taken in the breeding season come from Finney, Meade, Riley,
and Franklin counties. Seasonal occurrence is within the period March
18 to September 26.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid at least in June.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 8 eggs (6-10; 4). Nests are
on the ground under cover of marsh plants.
=Common Gallinule=: _Gallinula chloropus cachinnans_ Bangs.--This is a
local summer resident in marshlands. Nesting records and specimens taken
in the breeding season come from Barton, Stafford, Shawnee, Douglas, and
Coffey counties. Occurrence in the State is from April through
September.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid in May and June.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 10 eggs.
Nests are in marsh grasses and other emergent vegetation, not
necessarily over water.
=American Coot=: _Fulica americana americana_ Gmelin.--This is an
uncommon, local summer resident in wetlands in Kansas. Coots are at
greatest abundance in autumnal and spring migratory movements, but are
present all year. Nesting has been recorded from Barton, Stafford,
Doniphan, and Douglas counties.
_Breeding schedule._--Thirty-eight records of breeding span the period
May 11 to June 30; the mode to laying is May 25. Earlier breeding
probably occurs in the State.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 8 eggs (7.7, 5-12; 28).
Nests are made of marsh vegetation (arrowhead, cattail) and float on
water.
=Snowy Plover=: _Charadrius alexandrinus tenuirostris_
(Lawrence).--This summer resident is fairly common on the saline flats
of central and south-central Kansas. Breeding records are from Barton,
Stafford, Meade, Clark, and Comanche counties.
_Breeding schedule._--Fifteen records show that eggs are laid in the
period May 25 to June 20; the peak of laying seems to be around June
10.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 3 eggs.
Eggs are deposited on bare sand.
=Killdeer=: _Charadrius vociferus vociferus_ Linnaeus.--This summer
resident is common throughout the State, in open country frequently
near wetlands. A few individuals overwinter in Kansas, especially in
the southern counties.
_Breeding schedule._--The 29 records of breeding span the period March
21 to June 30; the modal date of laying is May 20. The distribution of
completed clutches (Fig. 3) suggests that Killdeers are here
double-brooded.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 4 eggs.
Eggs are laid on the surface of the ground, frequently on gravel,
field stubble, plowed earth, and pasture.
=Mountain Plover=: _Eupoda montana_ (Townsend).--This is an uncommon
and local summer resident in western short-grass prairie. Breeding
records come from Greeley and Decatur counties.
_Breeding schedule._--Wolfe (1961) wrote that the species in Decatur
County laid eggs in the "last of May" in the early 1900s. The only
other dated breeding record is of downy young (KU 5512, 5513) taken on
June 21.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is usually 3 eggs.
Eggs are laid in slight depressions in the ground, "lined with a few
grass stems," according to Wolfe (1961).
=American Woodcock=: _Philohela minor_ (Gmelin).--This is a rare
summer resident in wet woodlands in eastern Kansas. Arrival in the
northeast is from mid-March through April, with departures southward
occurring from September to December; the last date on which the
species has been seen in any year is December 5. There are nesting
records only from Woodson County; probably the species nests in
Douglas County (Fitch, 1958:194).
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid in April.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is usually 4 eggs.
Nests are depressions in the dry ground within swampy places, usually
under heavy plant cover.
=Long-billed Curlew=: _Numenius americanus americanus_
Bechstein.--This is an uncommon summer resident in western Kansas, in
prairie grassland. Breeding records are from Stanton and Morton
counties.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid at least in May and June.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 4 eggs.
Eggs are laid in slight depressions in the ground in grassy cover.
=Upland Plover=: _Bartramia longicauda_ (Bechstein).--This is a locally
common summer resident, most conspicuously in the Flint Hills, in
grassland. Breeding records are from Trego, Hamilton, Finney, Morton,
Meade, Marion, Chase, Kearny, Butler, Cowley, Douglas, Johnson,
Wabaunsee, Franklin, Anderson, and Coffey counties. Dates of first
arrival in spring span the period April 2 to May 5 (the median is April
19), and dates last seen in autumn are from September 3 to October 6
(the median is September 13).
_Breeding schedule._--Sixteen records of breeding span the period
April 21 to June 10; the modal date for egg-laying is May 5.
_Number of eggs._--Usually 4 eggs are laid.
Eggs are placed on vegetation on the ground surface, in pasture, field
stubble, or gravel, frequently under heavy plant cover.
=Spotted Sandpiper=: _Actitis macularia_ (Linnaeus).--This summer
resident is locally common on wet ground and along streams. Dates of
arrival in spring are from March 29 to April 30 (the median is April
24), and dates of last observation in autumn span the period September
2 to October 10 (the median is September 18).
_Breeding schedule._--Egg records are all from the northeastern
sector, and all are for May.
_Number of eggs._--Usually 4 eggs are laid.
Nests are of plant fibers in depressions in dry ground on gravel
banks, pond or stream borders, or in pastureland.
=American Avocet=: _Recurvirostra americana_ Gmelin.--This is a local
summer resident in marshes in central and western Kansas. There are
breeding records from Finney, Barton, and Stafford counties. Extreme
dates within which avocets have been recorded are April 2 to November
21.
_Breeding schedule._--Forty-one records of breeding span the period
May 11 to June 20 (26 records shown in Fig. 3); the modal date for
laying is June 5.
_Number of eggs._--Usually 4 eggs are laid.
Nests are placed on the surface of the ground, near water.
=Wilson Phalarope=: _Steganopus tricolor_ Vieillot.--This is a local
summer resident in marshes in central and western Kansas, but breeding
records are available only from Barton County. The earliest date of
occurrence is April 7 and the latest is October 14.
_Breeding schedule._--Ten records indicate eggs are laid in May and
June.
_Number of eggs._--Three or 4 eggs are laid.
Nests are of plant stems in slight depressions in the ground.
=Forster Tern=: _Sterna forsteri_ Nuttall.--This is a local summer
resident in central Kansas, in marshes. There are breeding records
only from Cheyenne Bottoms, Barton County (Zuvanich, 1963:1). First
dates of arrival in spring span the period April 9 to 29 (the median
is April 22), and apparent departure south in autumn occurs from
August 1 to November 1 (the median is September 3).
_Breeding schedule._--Twenty-three records of nesting are from late
May to mid-June; all records are for the year 1962.
_Number of eggs._--Usually 4 eggs are laid.
Nests are frequently floating platforms of vegetation (algae, cattail,
and the like) in shallow water; old nests of Pied-billed Grebes are
sometimes used as bases, and occasionally the birds nest on the
ground.
=Least Tern=: _Sterna albifrons athalassos_ Burleigh and Lowery.--This
tern is a local summer resident in marshes and along streams in central
and western Kansas. There are breeding records from Hamilton, Meade, and
Stafford counties. First dates of arrival in spring are from May 14 to
30 (the median is May 28), and last dates of occurrence in autumn are
from August 9 to September 7 (the median is August 25).
_Breeding schedule._--Twenty-one records of egg-laying are from May 21
to June 30 (Fig. 4); the modal date for laying is June 5.
_Number of eggs._--Two, 3 or 4 eggs are laid.
Eggs are laid on the bare ground, usually a sandy surface, near water.
=Black Tern=: _Chlidonias niger surinamensis_ (Gmelin).--This is a
local summer resident in marshlands in central Kansas. There are
breeding records only from Barton County for 1961 and 1962; possibly
the species breeds in Douglas County. First dates of arrival in spring
are from May 3 to 29 (the median is May 14), and last dates of
occurrence in autumn are from September 2 to 30 (the median is
September 11).
_Breeding schedule._--Twenty-four sets of eggs (Parmelee, 1961:25; M.
Schwilling) were complete between June 11 and July 12.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 3 eggs.
Nests are of dead plant matter placed on floating parts of emergent
green plants in shallow water.
=Rock Dove=: _Columba livia_ Gmelin.--This species was introduced into
North America by man from European stocks of semi-domesticated
ancestry. "Pigeons" now are feral around towns and farms, and
cliffsides in the west, and are locally common permanent residents
throughout the State.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid in every month of the year. The
main season of breeding is spring, and this is depicted in Figure 4;
the 26 records of breeding by feral birds are from January 11 to June
10, and the modal date of laying is probably April 5.
_Number of eggs._--Pigeons usually lay 2 eggs. Nests are of sticks
and other plant matter placed on ledges and recesses of buildings,
bridges, and cliffs, 10 to 60 feet high.
[Illustration: FIG. 4.--Histograms representing breeding
schedules of the Least Tern, two doves, the Yellow-billed
Cuckoo, and two owls in Kansas. See legend to Figure 1 for
explanation of histograms.]
=Mourning Dove=: _Zenaidura macroura marginella_ (Woodhouse).--This is
a common summer resident throughout the State, in open country and
woodland edge. The species is also present in winter in much reduced
numbers, and many are transient in periods of migration. The time of
greatest abundance is from March to November. Doves of extreme eastern
Kansas have by some workers been referred to the subspecies _Z. m.
carolinensis_ (Linnaeus); specimens at the Museum of Natural History
indicate that these doves are best regarded as members of populations
of intermediate subspecific, or morphologic, affinities, and that they
are satisfactorily included within _Z. m. marginella_.
_Breeding schedule._--Numerous (983) records of egg-laying from
north-central Kansas are from April 1 to September 10; the modal date
for laying is May 15. Forty-three records of breeding from
northeastern Kansas span the period March 21 to August 10; the modal
date of laying is May 15. These samples are depicted in Figure 4.
Both sets of data are shown here to illustrate some of the differences
between large and small samples of heterogeneous data. The small
sample tends to be incomplete both early and late in the season, and
the mode tends to be conspicuous. Yet, the modes for the two samples
coincide. Also, the data from the north-central sector indicate that
egg-laying in March would be found less than once in 983 records, but
the small sample from the northeast includes one record for March.
Such an instance doubtless reflects, at least in part, the fact that
the two geographic sectors have different environmental conditions,
but it is likely that the instance also partly reflects the
unpredictable nature of sampling.
_Number of eggs._--Doves lay two eggs. About one per cent of all nests
have 3 eggs, but it is not known for any of these whether one or two
females were responsible.
Nests are placed in a wide variety of plants, or on the ground. The
commonest plants are those used most frequently; in north-central
Kansas one-third of all nests are placed in osage orange trees, but in
the northeast elms are most frequently used. Nestsites are from zero
to 15 feet high.