summer resident in eastern Kansas, presently absent from the State
west of stations in Cloud and Barber counties. Preferred habitat is
found in understory of forest and woodland. Wood Thrushes appear to
have nested in small numbers as far west as Oberlin, Decatur County
(Wolfe, 1961), some 50 years ago, but have since disappeared from such
places, probably as a result of progressive modification of watershed
and riparian timber by man. First dates of arrival in spring are from
April 19 to May 20 (the median is May 9), and departure southward is
in the period September 3 to October 1 (the median is September 15).
_Breeding schedule._--Thirty-eight records of breeding fall in the
period May 11 to August 10 (Fig. 7); the modal date of egg-laying is
June 5 for first clutches. Fifty-five per cent of all eggs are laid
between May 21 and June 10.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 3 eggs (3.4, 3-4; 9).
Nests are placed about 11 feet high in elm, dogwood, willow, linden,
and oak.
=Eastern Bluebird=: _Sialia sialis sialis_ (Linnaeus).--This locally
common resident and summer resident in eastern Kansas, is only casual
west of Comanche County, in open parkland and woodland edge.
_Breeding schedule._--Fifty-four records of breeding span the period
April 1 to July 20 (Fig. 7); the modal date for first clutches is
April 25 and for second clutches is June 5.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 5 eggs (4.9, 4-6; 15).
Nests are placed in cavities about eight feet high in trees (elm, box
elder, fruit trees, willow, and ash), and about four feet high in
stumps, fence posts, and nestboxes placed by man.
=Blue-gray Gnatcatcher=: _Polioptila caerulea caerulea_
(Linnaeus).--This summer resident is common in eastern Kansas in
brushy woodland, edge, and second growth. Specimens taken in the
breeding season and nesting records come from east of stations in
Riley and Cowley counties, but there is a breeding specimen from
Oklahoma just south of Harper County, Kansas. The species is present
from March 30 to September 18.
_Breeding schedule._--Twelve records of breeding span the period April
20 to June 20; the modal date for egg-laying is May 10.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 5 eggs.
Nests are placed in forks or on limbs about 17 feet high in oak, elm,
honey locust, red haw, pecan, and walnut.
=Cedar Waxwing=: _Bombycilla cedrorum_ Vieillot.--This waxwing is a
rare, local, and highly irregular summer resident in northeastern
Kansas, in woodland and forest edge habitats. The known nesting
stations are in Wyandotte and Shawnee counties; six nests have been
found in the period 1949 to 1960. The species has been recorded in all
months.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid in June and early July.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 4 eggs (Davie, 1898).
Nests are placed four to 24 feet high in a variety of deciduous and
coniferous trees and shrubs.
=Loggerhead Shrike=: _Lanius ludovicianus_ Linnaeus.--This common
resident and summer resident favors open country with scattered shrubs
and thickets. _L. l. migrans_ Palmer occurs in eastern Kansas, west to
about the 96th meridian, and _L. l. excubitorides_ Grinnell occurs in
western Kansas, east to about the 100th meridian; populations of
intermediate character occupy central Kansas. These shrikes tend to be
resident in southern counties, but are migratory in the north. Dates
of spring arrival in Cloud County are between March 9 and 31 (the
median is March 21) and the birds leave southward between October 19
and December 19 (the median is November 1).
_Breeding schedule._--Fifty-seven records of breeding span the period
April 1 to June 30 (Fig. 7); the modal date for egg-laying is April
15.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 5 eggs (5.3, 4-7; 32). There is no
seasonal variation in the sample.
Nests are placed about six feet high (ranging from four to 10 feet) in
osage orange, small pines, honeysuckle vines, and elm.
=Starling=: _Sturnus vulgaris_ Linnaeus.--This species is a common
resident in towns and around farms, foraging in open fields of various
kinds. Starlings (introduced into North America from European stocks
of _S. v. vulgaris_) first appeared in eastern Kansas in the early
1930s and were established as successful residents by 1935 or 1936.
Occupancy of Kansas to the west took only a few years. There are no
specimens taken in the breeding season or actual nesting records from
southwest of Ellis and Stafford counties; Starlings seem to be
resident in Cheyenne County, but no nesting record exists from there.
_Breeding schedule._--Sixty-seven records of breeding span the period
March 1 to June 30 (Fig. 7); the modal date for first clutches is
April 15, and for second clutches is June 5.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 5 eggs (5.2, 4-8; 19).
Nests are placed about 22 feet high (ranging from eight to 50 feet) in
crevices in elm, locust, hackberry, nestboxes placed by man, and in a
variety of other structures of man.
=Black-capped Vireo=: _Vireo atricapilla_ Woodhouse.--This was a
summer resident, apparently of limited distribution but in good
numbers, in Comanche County, in oak woodland and brushland edge. No
specimens have been taken in Kansas since 1885.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are probably laid in May and June. Goss
(1891:351) found a nest under construction on May 11, 1885, and this
is the only nesting record of the species in the State.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 4 eggs (Davie, 1898).
Nests are placed low, perhaps around four feet high, in deciduous
trees and shrubs (Davie, _op. cit._).
=White-eyed Vireo=: _Vireo griseus noveboracensis_ (Gmelin).--This is
a local summer resident in eastern Kansas, in woodland and forest
edge. Stations of breeding occurrence are in Doniphan, Douglas,
Johnson, Anderson, Labette, and Montgomery counties. The species is
present within the extreme dates of April 23 to October 5 (Table 16).
_Breeding schedule._--Ten records of breeding span the period May 10
to June 30; the modal date for egg-laying is June 10. The present
sample is not adequate to indicate extreme or modal dates with
reasonable accuracy.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 4 eggs (3.6, 3-4; 5).
Nests are placed relatively low in forks in trees and shrubs.
=Bell Vireo=: _Vireo bellii bellii_ Audubon.--This summer resident is
common in riparian thickets and second-growth scrub. Temporal
occurrence is indicated in Table 16. _Breeding schedule._--Sixty-six
records of breeding span the period May 1 to July 20 (Fig. 7); the
modal date for egg-laying is May 25, and a little under 40 per cent of
all eggs are laid in the period May 21-31. Renesting following
disruption of first nests is regular, and the small peak in the
histogram in the period June 11-20 is representative of this.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 4 eggs (4.6, 3-6; 21). Clutches in
May have an average of 3.7 eggs, and those in June and July 3.6 eggs.
Nests are placed about two feet high (ranging from one to five feet)
in terminal or lateral forks of small branches in elm, hackberry,
osage orange, coralberry, dogwood, plum, honey locust, mulberry,
willow, cottonwood, and box elder.
=Yellow-throated Vireo=: _Vireo flavifrons_ Vieillot.--This is a rare
and local summer resident in deciduous forest and woodland in eastern
Kansas. Stations of breeding occurrence fall east of Shawnee and
Woodson counties. Temporal occurrence is indicated in Table 16.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid at least in May.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 4 eggs.
Nests are placed 16 to 30 feet high in forks of mature deciduous
trees.
TABLE 16.--OCCURRENCE IN TIME OF SUMMER RESIDENT VIREOS IN KANSAS
=================+==========================+=============================
| Arrival | Departure
SPECIES +----------------+---------+------------------+----------
| Range | Median | Range | Median
-----------------+----------------+---------+------------------+----------
White-eyed Vireo | Apr. 23-May 25 | May 8 | Oct. 5 |
Bell Vireo | Apr. 14-May 20 | May 8 | Aug. 26-Sept. 27 | Sept. 6
Yellow-throated | | | |
Vireo | Apr. 27-May 22 | May 7 | Aug. 23-Oct. 1 | Aug. 31
Red-eyed Vireo | Apr. 21-May 10 | May 4 | Sept. 2-Oct. 7 | Sept. 10
Warbling Vireo | Apr. 20-May 9 | Apr. 28 | Sept. 2-Oct. 6 | Sept. 9
-----------------+----------------+---------+------------------+----------
=Red-eyed Vireo=: _Vireo olivaceus olivaceus_ (Linnaeus).--This summer
resident is common in the east, but is local and less abundant in the
west, in woodland and deciduous forest. Temporal occurrence is
indicated in Table 16.
_Breeding schedule._--Eight records of breeding fall in the period May
21 to July 31; most records of egg-laying are in the first week of
June.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 4 eggs (4.0, 3-5; 5).
Nests are placed in forks of mature deciduous trees, usually fairly
high--perhaps 15 to 25 feet (Davie, 1898).
=Warbling Vireo=: _Vireo gilvus gilvus_ (Vieillot).--This summer
resident is common in woodland and forest edge. Temporal occurrence is
indicated in Table 16.
_Breeding schedule._--Seventeen records of breeding span the period
May 1 to June 20, but it is likely that breeding later in June and
July will be recorded. The modal date for egg-laying is June 5, and
this seems to be a reliable index to the major effort in egg-laying in
spite of the small sample.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 4 eggs (3.6, 3-4; 5). Nests are
placed three to 25 feet high in a variety of deciduous shrubs and
trees.
=Black-and-white Warbler=: _Mniotilta varia_ (Linnaeus).--This local
and uncommon summer resident lives in deciduous forest and woodland.
Specimens taken in the breeding season and actual records of nesting
come from Doniphan, Douglas, Coffey, Greenwood, Sedgwick, Labette, and
Cherokee counties. Temporal occurrence in the State is indicated in
Table 17.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid in May and June.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is around 5 eggs (Davie, 1898).
Nests are placed on the ground, in depressions or niches, under heavy
cover.
=Prothonotary Warbler=: _Protonotaria citrea_ (Boddaert).--This is a
local summer resident in eastern Kansas, in understory of riparian
timber and swampy woodland. Specimens taken in the breeding season and
actual records of nesting come from Doniphan, Douglas, Linn, and
Cowley counties. Temporal occurrence is indicated in Table 17.
_Breeding schedule._--Twenty-two records of breeding span the period
May 11 to July 10 (Fig. 8); the modal date for egg-laying is June 5,
and 75 per cent of all clutches are laid in the period June 1 to 20.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 5 eggs (4.5, 3-6; 15).
Nests are placed in holes and niches in willow, red haw, elm, and a
variety of stumps, about eight feet high (ranging from five to 20
feet), usually over water. A pair nested once in a gourd under the
eave of a house in Winfield, Cowley County, and another pair in a tin
cup on a shelf at a sawmill (Goss, ex Long, 1936).
=Parula Warbler=: _Parula americana_ (Linnaeus).--This summer resident
in eastern Kansas usually can be found in heavy woodland and
flood-plain timber. Specimens taken in the breeding season and actual
records of breeding come from Doniphan, Riley, Douglas, Montgomery,
Labette, and Cherokee counties. Temporal occurrence is indicated in
Table 17.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid at least from mid-May to mid-June.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 4 eggs.
Nests are placed in debris in root tangles along stream banks, and,
presumably, in pendant arboreal lichens.
=Yellow Warbler=: _Dendroica petechia_ (Linnaeus).--This summer resident
is common in the east, in woodland and riparian growths. _D. p. aestiva_
(Gmelin) occupies eastern Kansas west at least to Barber County, but it
is not known how far west representatives of this population breed. _D.
p. morcomi_ Coale breeds in western Kansas. _D. p. sonorana_ Brewster, a
name applicable to Yellow Warblers of the southwestern United States and
northern Mexico, has been considered a "straggler" (Long, 1940) or
probable summer resident (Tordoff, 1956; Johnston, 1960) in southwestern
Kansas, on the basis of one specimen taken on June 24, 1911, at a point
two miles south of Wallace, Wallace County. This specimen, which is
pale, was identified in 1935 as _D. p. sonorana_ by H. C. Oberholser.
Specimens taken subsequently from Cheyenne, Hamilton, and Morton
counties in the breeding season can be referred adequately to _D. p.
morcomi_. Probably the specimen of 1911 is a pale variant of _D. p.
morcomi_ within its normal distributional range. _Breeding
schedule._--Thirty-five records of breeding span the period May 11 to
June 20 (Fig. 8); this probably is inadequate to show the extent of the
season, and some egg-laying into July is likely to be found in the
future. The modal date of egg-laying is May 25, and this is likely to be
reliable.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 4 eggs (4.2, 3-5; 29).
Nests are placed about nine feet high (ranging from five to 20 feet)
in crotches of trees and shrubs including willow, elderberry,
cottonwood, crabapple, plum, and coralberry.
=Prairie Warbler=: _Dendroica discolor discolor_ (Vieillot).--This
rare, local summer resident occurs in deciduous second-growth. The
only breeding records are from Wyandotte and Johnson counties.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid at least in June.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 4 eggs (Davie, 1898).
Nests are placed low, perhaps about four feet high, in a wide variety
of small trees and shrubs.
=Louisiana Waterthrush=: _Seiurus motacilla_ (Vieillot).--This uncommon
to rare summer resident in eastern Kansas lives in woodland understory
near streams. Nesting records come from Douglas, Miami, Linn, and
Crawford counties. Wolfe (1961) reports he found a nest with young near
Oberlin, Decatur County, on June 10, 1910, under an overhanging bank of
Sappa Creek; Decatur County is some 250 miles west of the present
western limit of the breeding range of the Louisiana Waterthrush, and
western habitats are not favorable for their occurrence. Temporal
characteristics of their distribution are indicated in Table 17.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid in May and June.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 5 eggs (Davie, 1898).
Nests are placed in concealed places in banks or stumps always where
it is wet.
TABLE 17.--OCCURRENCE IN TIME OF SUMMER RESIDENT WOOD WARBLERS
IN KANSAS
==================+=========================+=============================
| Arrival | Departure
SPECIES +----------------+--------+------------------+----------
| Range | Median | Range | Median
------------------+----------------+--------+------------------+----------
Black-and-white | | | |
Warbler | Apr. 2-May 12 | May 5 | Sept. 10-Oct. 14 | Sept. 22
Prothonotary | | | |
Warbler | Apr. 24-May 25 | May 8 | Aug. 6-Sept. 10 | Aug. 22
Parula Warbler | Apr. 6-May 5 | Apr. 23| Sept. 12-Oct. 7 | Sept. 18
Yellow Warbler | Apr. 21-May 7 | Apr. 30| Aug. 28-Oct. 1 | Sept. 4
Louisiana | | | |
Waterthrush | Apr. 2-May 2 | Apr. 16| Aug. ? |
Kentucky Warbler | Apr. 24-May 15 | May 3 | Sept. 13 |
Yellowthroat | Apr. 21-May 10 | May 3 | Sept. 8-Oct. 3 | Sept. 17
Yellow-breasted | | | |
Chat | Apr. 29-May 19 | May 11 | Aug. 29-Oct. 1 | Sept. 8
American Redstart | Apr. 22-May 20 | May 12 | Sept. 1-Oct. 7 | Sept. 10
------------------+----------------+--------+------------------+----------
=Kentucky Warbler=: _Oporornis formosus_ (Wilson).--This is an
uncommon summer resident in eastern Kansas, in deciduous forest and
woodland. Specimens taken in the breeding season and actual records of
nesting come from Riley, Doniphan, Douglas, Leavenworth, Linn,
Montgomery, and Labette counties. Temporal occurrence is indicated in
Table 17.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid in May and June.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 4 or 5 eggs.
Nests are placed near or on the ground, usually at the base of small
shrubs or clumps of grass.
=Yellowthroat=: _Geothlypis trichas_ (Linnaeus).--This summer resident
in and near marshes is common in the east and is local and somewhat
less common in the west. _G. t. brachydactylus_ (Swainson) breeds east
of stations in Clay, Greenwood, and Montgomery counties, _G. t.
occidentalis_ Brewster breeds west of stations in Decatur, Stafford,
and Pratt counties, and the intervening area is occupied by warblers
of intermediate morphologic characters. Temporal occurrence is
indicated in Table 17.
_Breeding schedule._--Nine records of breeding span the period May 11
to June 10; the modal date of egg-laying is June 1. The season is
probably more extended in time than is indicated by the available
records.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 5 eggs (4.8, 4-5; 6).
Nests are placed in cattails and sedges one to two and one-half feet
high.
=Yellow-breasted Chat=: _Icteria virens_ (Linnaeus).--This summer
resident is common in willow thickets and rank second-growth. _I. v.
virens_ (Linnaeus) breeds in eastern Kansas, from Nemaha County south,
_I. v. auricollis_ (Deppe) breeds in western Kansas, from Norton
County south, and the intervening sector is occupied by chats of
intermediate morphologic character. Temporal occurrence is indicated
in Table 17.
_Breeding schedule._--Twenty-six records of breeding span the period
May 11 to July 20 (Fig. 8); the modal date for completion of clutches
is June 5. Forty-two per cent of all eggs are laid in the period June
1 to 10.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 4 eggs (3.9, 3-5; 21). Clutches in
May are larger than those in June and July.
Nests are placed in forks and crotches about three feet high in
dogwood, willow, rose, coralberry, cottonwood, and thistles.
=Hooded Warbler=: _Wilsonia citrina_ (Boddaert).--This warbler is a
rare summer resident in eastern Kansas, in wet, open woodland.
Specimens (a total of four) taken in the breeding season are from
Leavenworth and Shawnee counties, and the one nesting record is from
Anderson County.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid at least in May.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 4 eggs.
Nests are low (some as high as six feet) in woody vegetation.
=American Redstart=: _Setophaga ruticilla ruticilla_ (Linnaeus).--This
summer resident occurs locally in woodlands east from stations in
Cloud and Sumner Counties. Temporal occurrence is indicated in Table
17.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid in May and June.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 4 eggs (Davie, 1898), but
there are two records of 5 in Kansas. Nests are placed six to 30 feet
high, but usually about 12 feet, in forks or saddled on a branch, in
deciduous trees.
[Illustration: FIG. 8.--Histograms representing breeding
schedules of wood warblers, the House Sparrow, icterids, and
cardinal grosbeaks in Kansas. See legend to Figure 1 for
explanation of histograms.]
=House Sparrow=: _Passer domesticus_ (Linnaeus).--This sparrow,
introduced from stocks in Ohio and New York (originally from England
and Germany), has been present since about 1876 in eastern Kansas; it
is a common resident in towns and at farmsteads throughout the state.
Nomenclaturally, House Sparrows in North America consistently have
been referred to the European ancestral stocks, _P. d. domesticus_,
but none in North America today duplicates morphologically the
European birds. This is evidence of meaningful adaptation of the North
American populations to environments in which they now live, and
continued use of _P. d. domesticus_ is misleading. Studies on local
differentiation in North American House Sparrows are in progress, and
when the biology of sparrows in the midwest is better understood,
suitable nomenclatural proposals will be made.
_Breeding schedule._--Fifty-one records of breeding span the period
March 20 to July 20 (Fig. 8); the modal date for laying of first
clutches is April 5, and for second clutches May 5.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 4 eggs (3.9, 3-7; 13).
Nests are placed in niches of various sorts seven to 50 feet high in
buildings, nestboxes, and trees, or freely situated in forks and
crotches of large trees.
=Bobolink=: _Dolichonyx oryzivorus_ (Linnaeus).--This species is a
rare and local summer resident, in and about grassy meadows. There are
but two stations of breeding in Kansas: Jamestown State Lake, Cloud
County, and Big Salt Marsh, Stafford County. Temporal occurrence is
indicated in Table 18.
_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid in June.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 5 eggs.
Nests are placed on the ground amidst grasses.
=Eastern Meadowlark=: _Sturnella magna_ (Linnaeus).--This summer
resident and resident is common in eastern Kansas, in moist grassland.
_S. m. argutula_ Bangs occurs in Montgomery, Labette, and Cherokee
counties and intergrades to the north and west with _S. m. magna_
(Linnaeus). Good numbers of birds are found east of the Flint Hills,
but to the west the species is of restricted and local distribution.
Extreme outliers of the species are found no farther west than
stations in Jewell, Stafford, and Barber counties.
_Breeding schedule._--Forty records of breeding span the period April
10 to July 20 (Fig. 8); the modal date for egg-laying is May 5.
Fifty-seven per cent of all eggs are laid in the period May 1 to 20.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 5 eggs (5.2, 4-7; 26). Prior to May
11, clutch-size is 5.3 eggs (13 records), and after that date it is
5.1 eggs (13 records).
Nests are placed on the ground, with cover of grasses or forbs.
=Western Meadowlark=: _Sturnella neglecta neglecta_ (Audubon).--This
is a common resident and summer resident in western Kansas, and is
restricted and local in the east; preferred habitat is in grassy
uplands.
_Breeding schedule._--Twenty-three records of breeding span the period
April 10 to July 30 (Fig. 8); the modal date for egg-laying is May 5
for first nests and June 5 for second nests.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 4 eggs (4.3, 3-6; 16).
Nests are placed on the ground with cover of grasses or forbs.
=Yellow-headed Blackbird=: _Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus_
(Bonaparte).--This uncommon and local summer resident occurs chiefly
in the west, in marshes. Nesting records are from Wallace, Meade,
Barton, Stafford, Doniphan, and Douglas counties. Temporal occurrence
is indicated in Table 18.
_Breeding schedule._--Fifty-one records of breeding span the period
May 20 to June 30; the modal date of egg-laying is June 5. The sample
is probably not large enough to be wholly reliable.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 4 eggs.
Nests are placed within a few feet of water in cattail, rush, sedge,
and willow.
=Red-winged Blackbird=: _Agelaius phoeniceus_ (Linnaeus).--This is a
common summer resident in marshes, wet pasture, and scrubby parkland
throughout the State. _A. p. phoeniceus_ (Linnaeus) occurs in most of
Kansas and _A. p. fortis_ (Ridgway) occurs in the west, east to about
Decatur County. A few birds can be found in eastern Kansas in winter;
the full breeding population is present between April and October.
_Breeding schedule._--The 109 records of breeding in Cloud County span
the period May 1 to July 30 (Fig. 8); the modal date for laying is May
25, and 71 per cent of all eggs are laid in the period May 11 to June
10. Eighty-eight records of breeding from northwestern Kansas make a
histogram almost exactly duplicating the one from Cloud County.
_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size at Concordia, Cloud County, is 4 eggs
(3.7, 3-5; 48); in northeastern Kansas mean clutch-size is 3.7 eggs
(3-5; 46). For the total sample, mean clutch-size in May is 4.0 eggs,
in June, 3.7 eggs, and in July, 3.3 eggs.
Nests are placed about four feet high (one to nine feet) in willow,
cattail, sedge, grass, elm, exotic conifer, elderberry, coralberry,
buttonbrush, honeysuckle, smartweed, ash, osage orange, and yellow
clover.
In central Kansas red-wings are host to the Brown-headed Cowbird in a
frequency of one parasitized nest out of nine; in northeastern Kansas
the ratio is 1:25.
TABLE 18.--OCCURRENCE IN TIME OF SUMMER RESIDENT ICTERIDS IN KANSAS