The Breeding Birds of Kansas Part 13

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 7.--Histograms representing breeding schedules of crows, chickadees, wrens, thrashers, thrushes, and their allies in Kansas. See legend to Figure 1 for explanation of histograms.]

=Carolina Chickadee=: _Parus carolinensis atricapilloides_ Lunk.--This resident is common in the southernmost tier of counties, from Comanche County east, in forest and woodland edge. Actual records of breeding are from Barber and Montgomery counties.

_Breeding schedule._--There are no data on breeding of this species in Kansas.

_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is about 5 eggs.

Nests are placed in cavities of trees.

=Tufted t.i.tmouse=: _Paras bicolor_ Linnaeus.--This resident is common in the eastern half of Kansas, in woodlands. Specimens taken in the breeding season and nesting records come from east of a line running through Cloud, Harvey, and Sumner counties, and the species probably breeds in Barber County.

_Breeding schedule._--Twenty-two records of breeding span the period March 21 to June 10 (Fig. 7); the modal date for laying is April 25, and 54 per cent of all clutches are laid in the period April 11 to 30.

_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 4 to 5 eggs (4.5; 6).

Nests are placed in cavities about 12 feet high (ranging from three to 30 feet) in elm, oak, cottonwood, hackberry, redbud, osage orange, and nestboxes placed by man.

=White-breasted Nuthatch=: _Sitta carolinensis_ Latham.--This resident in eastern Kansas, in well-developed woodland, is uncommon. _S. c.

cookei_ Oberholser occurs east of a line running through Douglas and Cherokee counties, on the basis of specimens taken in the breeding season and actual nesting records, and _S. c. carolinensis_ Latham occurs in Montgomery and Labette counties. _S. c. nelsoni_ Mearns has been recorded in Morton County but probably does not breed there.

_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid in March and April; young have been recorded being fed by parents throughout May.

_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is between 5 and 10 eggs.

Nests are placed in cavities about 30 feet high in elm and sycamore.

=House Wren=: _Troglodytes aedon parkmanii_ Audubon.--This summer resident is common in the east and uncommon in the west. Preferred habitat is in woodland, brushland, and urban parkland. House Wrens arrive in eastern Kansas in the period April 3 to 27 (the median is April 19), and are last seen in autumn in the period September 19 to October 13 (the median is September 30).

_Breeding schedule._--The 116 records of breeding span the period April 11 to July 31 (Fig. 7); the modal date of laying is May 20.

About 45 per cent of all clutches are laid in the period May 11 to 31.

_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 7 eggs (5.8, 3-7; 20). Clutches laid in May average 6.1 eggs (4-7; 14); those laid in June and July average 5.0 eggs (3-7; 6).

Nests are placed in cavities about ten feet high (ranging from two to 50 feet) in cottonwood, elm, willow, and a wide variety of structures, mostly nestboxes, built by man.

=Bewick Wren=: _Thryomanes bewickii_ Audubon.--This wren is an uncommon resident in Kansas, except for the northeastern quarter, in woodland understory and brushland. _T. b. bewickii_ Audubon occurs north and east of stations in Riley, Pottawatomie, Douglas, and Linn counties, and _T. b. cryptus_ Oberholser is found south of stations in Greeley, Stafford, and Linn counties; a zone of intergradation occurs between the two named populations. The species occupies marginal habitat in most of Kansas and periodically is reduced in numbers by severe winters.

_Breeding schedule._--Twenty-two records of breeding span the period March 21 to July 10 (Fig. 7); the modal date for first clutches is April 15 and for second clutches June 15.

_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 5 eggs (5.5, 5-7; 12).

Nests are placed in crevices about five feet high (ranging from zero to nine feet) in trees (oak, cherry, and pear), boulders, and a wide variety of structures, some of them nestboxes, built by man; appropriation and modification of nests of Barn Swallows is known to occur.

=Carolina Wren=: _Thryothorus ludovicia.n.u.s ludovicia.n.u.s_ Latham.--This common resident of southeastern Kansas in woodland understory and brushland is uncommon in the northeastern and south-central sectors.

Stations of breeding all fall east of a line running through Doniphan, Riley, and western Reno counties. North and west of southeastern Kansas the Carolina Wren is in marginal habitat and periodically is reduced in numbers by severe winters.

_Breeding schedule._--Fourteen records of breeding span the period April 11 to August 10; the modal date for laying is April 15, to judge only from the present sample. The species probably breeds also in late March and early April.

_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 4 eggs (4.2, 3-8; 9).

Nests are placed near the ground in stumps, and a wide variety of structures built by man, or in crevices in earthen banks.

=Long-billed Marsh Wren=: _Telmatodytes pal.u.s.tris dissaeptus_ (Bangs).--This is an uncommon summer resident in eastern Kansas in and around marshes. Presumably breeding individuals occur east of stations in Doniphan, Shawnee, and Sedgwick counties, but actual records of breeding come only from Doniphan County (Linsdale, 1928:505). First dates of arrival in spring run from April 19 to 29 (the median is April 22), and dates of last autumnal occurrence are from September 26 to October 31 (the median is October 8).

_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid from May to August.

_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 5 or 6 eggs; the range is from 3 to 10 (Welter, 1935).

Nests are woven of broad-bladed gra.s.ses, usually no farther than two feet from water or mud, suspended in vertical plant stalks or branches in marshes.

=Short-billed Marsh Wren=: _Cistothorus platensis stellaris_ (Nauman).--This rare and irregular summer resident in northeastern Kansas occurs in wet meadowland. Breeding records are available from Douglas and Coffey counties. Temporal occurrence in the State is at least from April 29 to October 25; early dates are most likely of transients.

_Breeding schedule._--Eggs are laid in late July and August.

_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 6 or 7 eggs.

Nests are woven of plant fibers and placed in vertically-running stalks and stems of gra.s.ses and short, woody vegetation, within two feet of the ground.

=Rock Wren=: _Salpinctes obsoletus obsoletus_ (Say).--This species is a common summer resident in western Kansas, in open, rocky country. Specimens taken in the breeding season and actual nests found come from west of stations in Decatur, Trego, and Comanche counties. Dates of occurrence are from April 2 to October 25.

Autumnal, postbreeding movement brings the species east at least to Cloud County (October 7, 8, and 12) and Douglas County (October 25).

_Breeding schedule._--Sixteen records of breeding span the period May 11 to July 20; the modal date for egg-laying is June 15.

_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 5 eggs (4.6, 3-7; 5).

Nests are placed in holes in rocks, occasionally in rodent burrows, from ground level to 80 feet high on faces of cliffs, but there averaging about 20 feet.

=Northern Mockingbird=: _Mimus polyglottos_ (Linnaeus).--This is a common resident in parkland and brushy savannah throughout Kansas. _M.

p. polyglottos_ (Linnaeus) occurs in the east, and _M. p. leucopterus_ (Vigors) in the west; a broad zone of intergradation exists between the two. Most specimens from Kansas are of intermediate morphology.

_Breeding schedule._--Sixty-nine records of breeding span the period April 21 to July 31 (Fig. 7); the modal date for first clutches is June 5, but is weakly indicated in the histogram (Fig. 7).

_Number of eggs._--Clutch-size is 3 eggs (3.5, 3-5; 27). Size of clutch does not vary seasonally or geographically in the present sample.

Nests are placed about four feet high (two to 10 feet) in osage orange, red cedar, mulberry, scotch pine, catalpa, cottonwood, rose, and arbor vitae.

=Catbird=: _Dumetella carolinensis_ (Linnaeus).--This is a common summer resident in the eastern half of Kansas, but is local in the west, in and near woodland edge and second-growth. First dates of arrival in spring are from April 25 to May 14 (the median is May 6), and last dates of autumnal occurrence are between September 20 and November 16 (the median is September 26).