(Linnaeus).--This is a common summer resident in riparian and
second-growth habitats throughout the State. Twenty-three dates of
first arrival in spring fall between April 29 and May 22 (the median
is May 12), and nine dates of last observation in autumn run from
September 13 to October 12 (the median is September 23).
_Breeding schedule._--Sixty-nine records of egg-laying span the period
May 11 to September 10 (Fig. 4); the modal date of laying is June 5.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 3 eggs (3.1, 2-5; 54).
Nests are placed about six feet high (from four to 20 feet) in sumac,
rose, pawpaw, mulberry, elm, cottonwood, willow, redbud, oak, osage
orange, walnut, boxelder, usually on horizontal surfaces, and in heavy
cover.
=Black-billed Cuckoo=: _Coccyzus erythropthalmus_ (Wilson).--This is
an uncommon summer resident, occurring in heavy riparian shrubbery and
second-growth. Breeding records are chiefly from eastern Kansas, but
specimens have been taken in the breeding season in all parts of the
State. Eleven dates of first arrival in spring are from May 7 to May
30 (the median is May 19), and four dates of last observed occurrence
in autumn are between September 4 and October 7 (the average is
September 18).
_Breeding schedule._--Seventeen records of egg-laying are between May
21 and August 10; the mode is at June 5.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 2 to 3 eggs (2.5, 2-3; 13).
Nests are placed about four feet high in heavy cover in plum, elm,
locust, and the like.
=Roadrunner=: _Geococcyx californianus_ (Lesson).--This is a local
resident in southern Kansas in xeric scrub or open edge habitats.
Breeding records are from Cowley and Sumner counties.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid at least from early April to
mid-July.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 5 eggs (4.5, 3-6; 4).
Nests are placed on the ground under plant cover, or occasionally low
in bushes.
=Barn Owl=: _Tyto alba pratincola_ Bonaparte.--This resident has a low
density throughout Kansas in open woodland and near agricultural
enterprises of man.
_Breeding schedule._--The few records available indicate egg-laying
occurs at least from April to July; elsewhere the species is known to
have a more protracted breeding schedule.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 5 eggs (4.7, 2-6; 4).
Nests are informal aggregations of sticks and litter placed in
recesses in stumps, hollow trees, rocky and earthen banks, and
dwellings and outbuildings of man.
=Screech Owl=: _Otus asio_ (Linnaeus).--This is a common resident in
woodland habitats throughout Kansas. _O. a. aikeni_ (Brewster) occurs
west of Rawlins, Gove, and Comanche counties, and _O. a. naevius_
(Gmelin) occurs in the remainder of the State except for the eastern
south-central sector, occupied by _O. a. hasbroucki_ Ridgway.
_Breeding schedule._--Fifteen records of egg-laying span the period
March 20 to May 10; there is a strong mode at April 5.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 4 eggs (4.0, 3-6; 12).
Nests are placed in holes and recesses in trees, three to 20 feet
high.
=Great Horned Owl=: _Bubo virginianus_ (Gmelin).--This is a common
resident throughout Kansas, especially near woodlands and cliffsides.
_B. v. virginianus_ (Gmelin) occurs east of a line through Rawlins and
Meade counties and _B. v. occidentalis_ Stone occurs to the west.
_Breeding schedule._--Fifty-seven records of egg-laying span the
period January 11 to March 20 (Fig. 4); the modal date for laying is
near February 10.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 2 eggs (2.4, 2-3; 22).
Nests are placed about 30 feet high in cottonwood, elm, osage orange,
hackberry, juniper, locust, cliffsides, and buildings of man. Old
nests of hawks, crows, and herons are frequently appropriated.
=Burrowing Owl=: _Speotyto cunicularia hypugaea_ (Bonaparte).--This is
an uncommon summer resident in western Kansas in grassland and open
scrub habitats. Stations of breeding all come from west of a line
running through Cloud and Barber counties. Arrival in spring is
between March 22 and April 17 (the median for 7 records is April 9),
and dates last seen in autumn span the period September 8 to November
14 (the median for 9 records is September 26).
_Breeding schedule._--Twenty-one records of egg-laying run from April
11 to July 10 (Fig. 4); the mode of laying is May 15.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 7 or 8 eggs.
Nests are informal aggregations of plant and animal fibers in chambers
of earthen burrows usually made by badgers or prairie dogs.
=Barred Owl=: _Strix varia varia_ Barton.--This is a local resident in
eastern Kansas, in heavy woodland. The species is said by implication
(A. O. U. Check-list, 1957) to occur in western Kansas, but no good
breeding records are available, all such records coming from and east
of Morris County. Specimens from southeastern Kansas show morphologic
intergradation with characters of _S. v. georgica_ Latham.
_Breeding schedule._--Three records of egg-laying are for the first
half of March.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size in our sample is 2 eggs.
Nests are situated in cavities in trees or in old hawk or crow nests.
=Long-eared Owl=: _Asio otus wilsonianus_ (Lesson).--This owl is a local
resident or summer resident in woodland with heavy cover throughout the
State. Breeding records are available from Trego, Meade, Cloud, and
Douglas counties.
_Breeding schedule._--Four records of egg-laying are for the period
March 11 to April 10.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 5 or 6 eggs.
Nests are placed in hollows of trees, stumps, cliffsides, on the
ground surface, or in old hawk, crow, or magpie nests (Davie, 1898).
=Short-eared Owl=: _Asio flammeus flammeus_ (Pontoppidan).--This is a
local resident or summer resident in open, marshy, and edge habitats;
records of nesting come from Republic, Marshall, Woodson, and Bourbon
counties.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid at least in April.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 6 eggs (Davie, 1898).
Nests are simple structures of sticks and grasses, placed on the
ground in grasses, frequently near cover of downed timber or bushes.
=Saw-whet Owl=: _Aegolius acadicus acadicus_ (Gmelin).--This is a rare
and local resident, in woodland. There is one breeding record (summer,
1951, Wyandotte County; Tordoff, 1956:331).
=Chuck-will's-widow=: _Caprimulgus carolinensis_ Gmelin.--This is a
locally common summer resident in woodland habitats in eastern Kansas.
Stations of occurrence of actual breeding fall south of Wyandotte
County and east of Shawnee, Greenwood, Stafford, and Sedgwick
counties.
_Breeding schedule._--Five records of breeding come between April 21
and May 31, with a peak perhaps in the first third of May.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 2 eggs.
Eggs are laid on heavy leaf-litter, usually under shrubby cover.
=Whip-poor-will=: _Caprimulgus vociferus vociferus_ Wilson.--This is a
local summer resident in woodland in eastern Kansas. Breeding records
are available only from Doniphan, Leavenworth, and Douglas counties;
there are sight records in summer from Shawnee County.
_Breeding schedule._--Two records of breeding cover the period May 21
to June 20.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 2 eggs.
Eggs are laid on heavy leaf-litter in shrubby cover.
=Poor-will=: _Phalaenoptilus nuttallii nuttallii_ (Audubon).--This is
a common summer resident in western Kansas, in xeric, scrubby
woodland. Breeding records are chiefly from west of Riley County, but
there is one from Franklin County; specimens taken in the breeding
season are available from Doniphan, Douglas, Anderson, Woodson, and
Greenwood counties.
_Breeding schedule._--Six records of egg-laying are from the period May 1
to June 20.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 2 eggs.
Eggs are laid on the ground, with or without plant cover.
TABLE 12.--OCCURRENCE IN TIME OF SUMMER RESIDENT CAPRIMULGIDS
AND APODIDS IN KANSAS
==================+==========================+============================
| Arrival | Departure
SPECIES +----------------+---------+------------------+---------
| Range | Median | Range | Median
------------------+----------------+---------+------------------+---------
Chuck-will's-widow| Apr. 20-May 1 | Apr. 28 | Oct.-Dec. | Oct. ?
Whip-poor-will | Apr. 6-Apr. 25 | Apr. 17 | Sept. 10-Oct. 11 | Sept. 21
Poor-will | Apr. 12 | ... | Sept. 20 | ...
Common Nighthawk | Apr. 29-May 23 | May 15 | Sept. 13-Oct. 18 | Sept. 23
Chimney Swift | Apr. 2-Apr. 30 | Apr. 22 | Sept. 18-Oct. 30 | Oct. 4
Ruby-throated | | | |
Hummingbird | Apr. 2-May 19 | May 6 | Sept. 3-Oct. 15 | Sept. 10
------------------+----------------+---------+------------------+---------
=Common Nighthawk=: _Chordeiles minor_ (Forster).--This is a common
summer resident throughout Kansas. Temporal occurrence is indicated
in Table 11. Three subspecies reach their distributional limits in
the State, _C. m. minor_ (Forster) in northeastern Kansas, _C. m.
chapmani_ Coues in southeastern Kansas, and _C. m. howelli_ Oberholser
west of the Flint Hills.
_Breeding schedule._--Twenty-two records of breeding span the period
May 11 to June 30; the modal date for egg-laying is June 10 (Fig. 5).
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 2 eggs.
Eggs are laid on the ground in rocky or gravelly areas, on unpaved
roads, or on flat, gravelled tops of buildings of man.
=Chimney Swift=: _Chaetura pelagica_ (Linnaeus).--This is a common
summer resident in eastern Kansas, around towns. Temporal occurrence
in the State is indicated in Table 12.
_Breeding schedule._--Thirty-six records of breeding span the period
May 11 to June 30; the modal date for egg-laying is May 25 (Fig. 5).
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 4 eggs.
Nests are secured by means of a salivary cement to vertical surfaces,
usually near the inside tops of chimneys in dwellings of man, but
occasionally in abandoned buildings and hollow trees.
=Ruby-throated Hummingbird=: _Archilochus colubris_ (Linnaeus).--This
is an uncommon summer resident in eastern Kansas, and is rare in the
west, in towns and along riparian vegetation. Temporal occurrence in
the State is listed in Table 12.
_Breeding schedule._--Eight records of breeding fall within the period
May 21 to July 10; there seems to be a peak to laying in the last
third of June. _Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 2 eggs.
Most nests are on outer branches of shrubs and trees, in forks or on
pendant branches, 10 to 20 feet high.
=Belted Kingfisher=: _Megaceryle alcyon alcyon_ (Linnaeus).--This
summer resident is common throughout the State in streamside and
lakeside habitats. Timing of arrival and departure of the breeding
birds is not well-documented owing to the fact that the species is
also transient and a winter resident in the State.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid at least from April 21 to May 20.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is near 6 eggs.
Eggs are laid on the floor of the chamber at the inner end of a
horizontal tunnel excavated in an earthen bank. The tunnel is two to
six feet long and many tunnels are strewn with bones and other dietary
refuse.
=Yellow-shafted Flicker=: _Colaptes auratus_ (Linnaeus).--This is a
common resident and summer resident in eastern Kansas, meeting,
hybridizing with, and partly replaced by _Colaptes cafer_ westward, in
open woodlands. _C. a. auratus_ (Linnaeus) occurs in southeastern
Kansas, and _C. a. luteus_ Bangs occurs in the remainder, intergrading
west of the Flint Hills with _C. cafer_.
_Breeding season._--Forty-eight records of breeding span the period
April 11 to June 10; the modal date for egg-laying is May 10 (Fig. 5).
This sample is drawn from central and eastern Kansas, but includes
records of breeding by some birds identified in the field as _C.
cafer_.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 6 eggs.
Nests are piles of wood chips in cavities excavated in stumps and dead
limbs of trees such as willow, cottonwood, mulberry, and catalpa,
ordinarily about six feet above the ground.
=Red-shafted Flicker=: _Colaptes cafer collaris_ Vigors.--This
woodpecker is a common summer resident in western Kansas, meeting,
hybridizing with, and largely replaced by _C. auratus_ in central and
eastern sectors. The vast majority of specimens taken in Kansas show
evidence of intergradation with _C. auratus_.
_Breeding schedule._--The few records of flickers identified in the
field as _C. cafer_ have been combined with those of _C. auratus_
(Fig. 5).
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is perhaps 6 eggs.
Nests are like those of _C. auratus_.
=Pileated Woodpecker=: _Dryocopus pileatus_ (Linnaeus).--This is a
rare and local resident in the east, in heavy timber. The species has
been seen, chiefly in winter, in all sectors of eastern Kansas in
recent years, but actual records of breeding come only from Linn and
Cherokee counties. _D. p. abieticola_ (Bangs) occurs in the northeast,
and _D. p. pileatus_ (Linnaeus) in the southeast.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid at least in April.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 3 or 4 eggs.
Nests are of wood chips in cavities excavated 45 to 60 feet high in
main trunks of cottonwood, sycamore, and pin oak.
=Red-bellied Woodpecker=: _Centurus carolinus zebra_ (Boddaert).--In
woodland habitats this is a common resident in eastern Kansas, local
in the west.
_Breeding schedule._--Thirty-seven records of breeding span the period
March 1 to June 30 (Fig. 5); the modal date of egg-laying is around
April 25.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 5 eggs.
Nests are of wood chips in cavities excavated in elm, cottonwood, box
elder, ash, hickory, or willow, about 25 feet high (nine to 60 feet).
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--Histograms representing breeding
schedules of the Common Nighthawk, Chimney Swift, woodpeckers,
and flycatchers in Kansas. See legend to Figure 1 for
explanation of histograms.]
=Red-headed Woodpecker=: _Melanerpes erythrocephalus_
(Linnaeus).--This is a common summer resident and uncommon permanent
resident in open woodland; in winter it is noted especially around
groves of oaks. _M. e. erythrocephalus_ (Linnaeus) occurs in eastern
Kansas and _M. e. caurinus_ Brodkorb occurs in central and western
Kansas.
_Breeding schedule._--Fifty-eight records of breeding span the period
May 1 to August 10 (Fig. 5); the modal date of egg-laying is June 5.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 3 or 4 eggs.
Nests are of wood chips in cavities excavated about 25 feet high in
willow, cottonwood, and elm.
=Hairy Woodpecker=: _Dendrocopos villosus villosus_ (Linnaeus).--This
resident is common in woodlands throughout the State.
_Breeding schedule._--Twenty-eight records of breeding span the period
March 21 to May 30 (Fig. 5); the modal date of egg-laying is May 5.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 4 eggs.
Nests are of wood chips in cavities excavated about 13 feet high in
elm, honey locust, and ash.
=Downy Woodpecker=: _Dendrocopos pubescens_ (Linnaeus).--This resident
is common in woodland throughout the State. _D. p. pubescens_
(Linnaeus) occurs in southeastern Kansas, and _D. p. medianus_
(Swainson) in the remainder.
_Breeding schedule._--Forty-one records of breeding span the period
April 11 to June 10 (Fig. 5); the modal date of egg-laying is May 5.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 4 eggs.
Nests are of wood chips in cavities excavated about 20 feet high in
willow, honey locust, ash, apple, and pear.
=Eastern Kingbird=: _Tyrannus tyrannus_ (Linnaeus).--This summer
resident is common throughout the east; it is local in the west but
there maintains conspicuous numbers in favorable places, such as
riparian woodland; preferred habitat in eastern sectors is typically
in woodland edge. Temporal occurrence is indicated in Table 13.
_Breeding season._--Sixty-three dates of egg-laying span the period
May 11 to July 20 (Fig. 5); the modal date for completion of clutches
is June 15. Nearly 70 per cent of all eggs are laid in June.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 3 eggs (3.3, 2-3; 10). Clutches are
probably larger than the average in May and smaller in June and July.
Nests are placed in crotches, terminal forks, and some on tops of
limbs, about 16 feet high, in elm, sycamore, honey locust, willow,
oak, apple, and red cedar.
=Western Kingbird=: _Tyrannus verticalis_ Say.--This summer resident
is common in the west, but is local and less abundant in the east.
Preferred habitat is in woodland edge, open country with scattered
trees, and in towns. Temporal occurrence is indicated in Table 13.
_Breeding schedule._--The 124 dates of egg-laying span the period May
11 to July 31 (Fig. 5); the modal date for egg-laying is June 15. More
than 70 per cent of all clutches are laid in June.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 4 eggs (3.6, 3-4; 8).
Nests are placed in crotches, lateral forks, or on horizontal limbs,
about 26 feet high, in cottonwood, elm, osage orange, hackberry, honey
locust, mulberry, oak, and on power poles.
=Scissor-tailed Flycatcher=: _Muscivora forficata_ (Gmelin).--This
summer resident is common in central and southern Kansas; it is rare
to absent in the northwestern sector, and is local in the northeast.
Preferred habitat is in open country with scattered trees. Temporal
occurrence is indicated in Table 13.
_Breeding schedule._--Twenty-eight records of breeding occur from May
21 to July 10 (Fig. 5); the modal date of egg-laying is June 25. The
present sample of records is small, and there is otherwise no evidence
suggesting that the breeding schedule of this species differs from
those of the other two kingbirds in Kansas.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 3 eggs (3.2, 2-5; 17). Mean
clutch-size for the first peak of laying shown in Figure 5 is 4.0
eggs; that for the second peak is 2.7 eggs.
Nests are placed in forks or on horizontal limbs of osage orange, red
haw, elm, and on crosspieces of power poles, about 15 feet high
(ranging from five to 35 feet).
=Great Crested Flycatcher=: _Myiarchus crinitus boreus_ Bangs.--This
summer resident is common in eastern Kansas, but is less numerous in
the west. Preferred habitat is in woodland and woodland edge. Temporal
occurrence is indicated in Table 13.
_Breeding schedule._--The twenty-two records of egg-laying are in the
period May 11 to July 10 (Fig. 5); the modal date for egg-laying is
June 5. The shape of the histogram (Fig. 5) indicates that some
breeding for which records are lacking occurs earlier in May.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 5 eggs (4.8, 4-6; 6).
Nests are placed in hollows and crevices in elm, maple, cottonwood,
willow, pear, apple, oak, drain spouts, and, occasionally, "bird houses"
made by man, about 17 feet high (four to 45 feet high).
TABLE 13.--OCCURRENCE IN TIME OF SUMMER RESIDENT FLYCATCHERS IN
KANSAS
=================+===========================+============================
| Arrival | Departure
SPECIES +-----------------+---------+-----------------+----------
| Range | Median | Range | Median
-----------------+-----------------+---------+-----------------+----------
Eastern Kingbird | Apr. 22-Apr. 30 | Apr. 28 | Sept. 1-Sept. 24| Sept. 13
Western Kingbird | Apr. 23-Apr. 30 | Apr. 28 | Sept. 1-Sept. 26| Sept. 8
Scissor-tailed | | | |
Flycatcher | Apr. 15-Apr. 28 | Apr. 18 | Sept. 21-Oct. 22| Oct. 12
Great Crested | | | |
Flycatcher | Apr. 15-May 4 | Apr. 29 | Sept. 1-Sept. 21| Sept. 9
Eastern Phoebe | Mar. 3-Mar. 31 | Mar. 22 | Oct. 3-Oct. 27 | Oct. 9
Say Phoebe | Apr. 4-Apr. 22 | Apr. 12 | |
Acadian | | | |
Flycatcher | Apr. 30-May 19 | May 9 | Sept. 3-Sept. 17| Sept. 4
Eastern Wood | | | |
Pewee | Apr. 2-May 28 | May 19 | Aug. 30-Sept. 18| Sept. 6
-----------------+-----------------+---------+-----------------+----------
=Eastern Phoebe=: _Sayornis phoebe_ (Latham).--This summer resident is
common in eastern Kansas, but is local in the west. Preferred habitat
is in woodland edge and riparian groves, where most birds are found
near bridges, culverts, or isolated outbuildings of man. Temporal
occurrence is indicated in Table 13.
_Breeding schedule._--The 136 records of breeding span the period
March 21 to July 20 (Fig. 5); the modal date for egg-laying is April
25 (for first clutches) and June 5 (for second clutches); this species
seems to be the only double-brooded flycatcher in Kansas.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 4 to 5 eggs (4.2, 3-5; 58). The
seasonal progression in clutch-size can be summarized as follows:
March 21-April 10: 4.0 eggs (2 records)
April 11-May 10: 4.4 eggs (37 records)
May 11-June 10: 3.9 eggs (10 records)
June 11-July 20: 3.6 eggs (9 records)
Nests are placed on horizontal, vertical, or overhanging surfaces of
culverts, bridges, houses of man, earthen cliffs, rocky ledges, and
entrances to caves, at an average height of 7.8 feet.
=Say Phoebe=: _Sayornis saya saya_ (Bonaparte).--This is a common
summer resident in western Kansas, breeding at least east to Cloud
County, in open country. Occurrence in time is listed in Table 13.
_Breeding schedule._--Ten records of breeding fall in the period May 1
to July 20; the modal date for egg-laying is in late May.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 5 eggs.
Nests are placed under bridges, in houses, or on cliffsides and
earthen banks.
=Acadian Flycatcher=: _Empidonax virescens_ (Vieillot).--This is an
uncommon summer resident in eastern Kansas, in woodland and riparian
habitats. Temporal occurrence is indicated in Table 13.
_Breeding schedule._--The available records of breeding by this
species in Kansas are too few to indicate reliably the span of the
breeding season. Information on hand suggests that Acadian Flycatchers
lay most eggs in late May or early June, and this places their nesting
peak some 10 to 20 days earlier than peaks for Wood Pewees and Traill
Flycatchers.
_Number of eggs._--Five records show 3 eggs each.
Nests are placed about six feet high on terminal twigs of oak and
alder.
=Traill Flycatcher=: _Empidonax traillii traillii_ (Audubon).--This
flycatcher has only recently been found nesting within Kansas; the
species is not included in analyses above. Twenty-three nesting
records are here reported, for the species in Kansas City, Jackson and
Platte counties, Missouri. Most of these records are from within a few
hundred yards of the political boundary of Kansas. The Traill
Flycatcher is a local summer resident in extreme northeastern Kansas
(Doniphan County), in wet woodland and riparian groves. Temporal
occurrence is not well-documented; first dates run from May 19 to 25;
the last dates of annual occurrence, possibly not all for transients,
run from August 14 to September 24.
_Breeding schedule._--Twenty-three records of breeding are from May 21
to July 10 (Fig. 5); the modal date for egg-laying is June 15.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 3 eggs (3.4, 2-5; 22).
Nests are placed in forks, crotches, and occasionally near trunks,
chiefly of willow, from 4.5 to 12 feet high (averaging six feet).
=Eastern Wood Pewee=: _Contopus virens_ (Linnaeus).--This summer
resident is common in the east, but is rare in the west. Preferred
habitat is in edge of forest and woodland. Temporal occurrence is
indicated in Table 13.
_Breeding schedule._--Nineteen dates of egg-laying span the period
June 1 to July 20 (Fig. 5); the modal date for completion of clutches
is June 15, and more than half of all clutches are laid in the period
June 11 to 20.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 3 eggs.
Nests are placed on upper surfaces of horizontal limbs of oak, elm,
and sycamore, about 22 feet high.
=Horned Lark=: _Eremophila alpestris_ (Linnaeus).--Breeding
populations are resident in open country with short or cropped
vegetation. _E. a. praticola_ (Henshaw) lives in the east, and _E. a.
enthymia_ (Oberholser) in the west.
_Breeding schedule._--Twenty-one records of breeding span the period
March 11 to June 10 (Fig. 6); the modal date for egg-laying is March
25. The histogram (Fig. 6) is constructed on a clearly inadequate
sample, and records of breeding both earlier and later are to be
expected. The peak of first nesting activity is probably reasonably
well-indicated by the available records.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 3 eggs (3.6, 3-5; 16).