_Migrant Species_
Forty-six species, furnishing 2,522 records of breeding, are considered
to be migrant in northeastern Kansas. These species are Great Blue
Heron, Green Heron, Swainson Hawk, American Coot, Killdeer, Upland
Plover, American Avocet, Least Tern, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black-billed
Cuckoo, Burrowing Owl, Common Nighthawk, Chimney Swift, Red-headed
Woodpecker, Eastern Kingbird, Western Kingbird, Scissor-tailed
Flycatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Wood
Pewee, Bank Swallow, Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow, Purple Martin,
Brown Thrasher, Catbird, House Wren, Robin, Wood Thrush, Blue-gray
Gnatcatcher, Bell Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Prothonotary Warbler, Yellow
Warbler, Chat, Western Meadowlark, Red-winged Blackbird, Orchard Oriole,
Baltimore Oriole, Common Grackle, Black-headed Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting,
Dickcissel, Lark Sparrow, and Field Sparrow. The distribution of
completed clutches runs from mid-March to the first third of September,
with a modal period of egg-laying in the first third of June (Fig. 1).
Conspicuous breeding activity occurs from the first third of May to the
last third of June.
THE INFLUENCE OF DOMINANT FORAGING ADAPTATION.--Five categories here
considered reflect broad foraging adaptation: woodland species, taking
invertebrate foods in the breeding season from woody vegetation or the
soil within wooded habitats; grassland species, taking invertebrate
foods in the breeding season from within grassland situations; limnic
species, foraging within marshy or aquatic habitats; aerial species,
foraging on aerial arthropods; raptors, feeding on vertebrates or large
insects.
_Raptors_
Six species, furnishing 174 records of breeding, are here considered, as
follows: Cooper Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Swainson Hawk, Great Horned Owl,
Burrowing Owl, and Loggerhead Shrike. The distribution of clutches (Fig.
1) runs from mid-January to the first third of July and is bimodal. One
period of egg-laying occurs in mid-February and a second in the last
third of April. Such a distribution indicates that two basically
independent groups of birds are being considered. The first peak of
laying reflects activities of the large raptors, and the second peak is
that of the insectivorous Burrowing Owl and Loggerhead Shrike. The peak
for these two birds is most nearly coincident with that for grassland
species, a category to which the Burrowing Owl might well be relegated.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Histograms representing breeding
schedules of ten categories of Kansan birds. Heights of columns
indicate percentage of total of clutches of eggs, and widths
indicate ten-day intervals of time, with the 5th, 15th, and
25th of each month as medians. The occurrences of monthly means
of temperature and precipitation are indicated at the bottom of
the figure.]
_Limnic Species_
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