AUER CORNELL LAB of ORNITHOLOGY LIBRARY at Sapsucker Woods — Illustration of Bank Swallow by Louis Agassiz Fuertes Cornell University Library QL 684.N2B89 biti DATE DUE GAYLORD PRINTED IN U.S.A. Cornell University The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924022526168 RRNITH! QL | 684 | V2 389: Fee ow A PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF THE BIRDS OF NEBRASKA WITH SYNOPSES BY LAWRENCE BRUNER ROBERT H. WOLCOTT MYRON H. SWENK al (go A LABORATORY OF ORNITHOLOGY LIBRARY W Let of fabucca fedle CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY taperatory of eae 159 Sapsucker Woods R Cornell University ithaca, New York A PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF THE BIRDS OF NEBRASKA WITH SYNOPSES BY LAWRENCE BRUNER ROBERT H. WOLCOTT MYRON H. SWENK KLOPP & BARTLETT CO. Printing, Lithographing, Stationery, Book Binding OMAHA, NEB. INTRODUCTION In 1896, Prof. Bruner published his list entitled ‘‘Some Notes on Nebraska Birds.” Asa working basis for the study of the ornithology of the state it has proven invaluable and it has also been greatly in demand by people not ornithol- ogists, who desired to ‘‘know something about our birds.” That edition was exhausted some time ago and its author hasbeen frequently urged to publish another. However, the organization of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union and the development of ornithology in the University has led to such a rapid increase in our knowledge in the past five years that it seemed that any publi- cation would soon become out of date, and so no one ventured to undertake the task. It is under these conditions that the opportunity has been offered, through the kindness of Ex-Governor-Furnas, Secretary of the State Board of Agricul- ture and an enthusiastic member of the Union, to prepare something on the birds of the state. It seemed too good an opportunity to be lost, and yet, under the circumstances, the authors of this contribution feel that it can only be considered, as its title states, as a preliminary review. It should be understood, nevertheless, preliminary in one sense as it is, that it has been prepared with the greatest care, and is believed to represent exactly the state of our knowledge at the present day. Every species has been care- fully considered, the specimens available examined, its occurrence in surround- ing states studied, the records in Bruner’s list thoroughly canvassed, as well as all data which have accumulated since, and the whole reduced to such statements as indicate clearly the limits of our knowledge in regard to the form under consideration. - All specimens about which there could be any doubt were sent to authorities east for exact: determination. Those species that have been previously reported from Nebraska but the right of whichtoa place in our fauna is questioned or denied have beenintroduced, but in brack- ets. There have also been added under the phrase ‘‘extralimital”’ those species which may possibly be found in the state in the future. This introduction of extralimital forms and their inclusion in the synopses has been thought desirable for the reason that many of them are almost sure to be found sooner or later, and this calling attention to them may result in their earlier detection and addition to our list. The aim has been to prepare a work which should not only reflect the present state of our knowledge, but at the same time be a new basis for future work. For the same reason all species which are known definitely to have bred within our limits are marked with an asterisk. It will be evident to the reader that: the addition of the figures showing the details of bird structure and the article on Birds in relation to Agriculture and Horticulture, as well as of the synopses themselves, is in order that the paper may be useful to any one, whether an ornithologist or not, and may be the means of further increasing 4 the interest in birds and love for them, in the state, and so advancing the cause of bird protection. It is not expected, however, that it will be suf- ficient for the student of ornithology, who should possess beside some good manual with full descriptions and figures of our birds, suchas Apgar’s Birds of the Eastern United States, Chapman & Reed’s Color Key to North American Birds, or if he can afford a more expensive work, either Ridgway’s Manual or Coues’ Key. Some day this preliminary review may be ex- panded into a complete, illustrated work on Nebraska birds, but it remains for the generosity of the state legislature or of some state society, interested in their preservation, to say when that shall be. The numbers preceding each species are those of the American Ornithol- ogists’ Union check list, and in regard to nomenclature the same list has been followed implicitly; the possessive has however been omitted from the common names. : ; The authors desire to acknowledge the assistance received, in the way of data, from various members of the Union and local bird club, whose names appear in connection with the records under different species, and also to recognize their indebtedness to Apgar’s Birds of the Eastern United States, the keys in which have formed the basis for some of the synopses here used. The thanks of the authors are also here extended to those of our ornitholog- ical authorities who have generously determined specimens sent to them— Messrs. H. C. Oberholser of the U. S. Biological Survey and Witmer Stone | of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. In the working over of records and material and in the comparison of authorities all the authors have participated, but a large part of the clerical work and of the preparation of the synopses has been done by Mr. Swenk. BIRDS IN RELATION TO AGRICULTURE AND HORTI- CULTURE* BY LAWRENCE BRUNER Nebraska is a good home for birds. We know definitely as many as four hundred different kinds that have been found within our borders and the presence of 11 moreis quite probable. Of thesetwo hundred are definitely known to nest in the state; many more certainly should be added to the list. During winter months more than one hundred (120) have been recorded, while the others leave in the fall for the warmer south country, only to return to us with the advent of pleasant weather in the following spring. While there is much to be learned concerning the migrations, nesting, moulting, songs and peculiar ways of living among the different birds that we may see in our groves, fields, along the streams, on the prairies, and about the hedge rows and garden patches, the most important feature connected with their lives to us is their food habits. For it is by what they eat that birds can and do make themselves of so much value to us. Of course birds are of different colors, sizes; and forms, and have their beaks, feet, wings, and tails made so as to best conform to the uses for which they are intended. The woodpeckers “have hard, chisel-like beaks for cutting holes in the bark and wood, and, at the same time, their tail feathers are stiff and pointed so as to be of use as props for holding the birds in place while busily engaged at nest making or digging for borers. In a like manner their long tongues are barbed so as to spear and drag forth the ‘‘worms” when reached. The short, strong beaks of the sparrows and their relatives are likewise suited for cracking the many kinds of weed seeds eaten by these birds in winter, as well as for crushing such insects as are eaten by the parents or fed to their young during the sum- mer time. On account of this most important feature in connection with our birds, we will confine our remarks in this paper chiefly to what they eat, and leave the descriptions of the birds themselves, their haunts, migrations, and nest building for some other time. Then too, almost everybody knows a few of these last mentioned things about most of our common birds. Birds can be useful to us in many ways. They can carry the seeds of dif- ferent plants from one place to another so as to help start new groves in which we and our domestic animals may find shelter from the cold winds of winter and the oppressive heat insummer. They plant seeds of shrubs by the way- *The present Pa ad is a combination of two former papers by the author, on the same topic, but the subject matter has been somewhat modified and abridged. The first of these DapPIE appeared in the Proceedings of the Ne- braska Ornithologists’ Union, II, pp. 18-29, and the second in the New Elementary Agriculture, pp. 103-117. This last work was issued by the University Publishing Company of Lincoln, Nebr. 6 side that spring up either to give shade or later to bear good fruit. They also carry the spawn of fishes and small crustaceans among their feathers into new waters, and feed upon.the countless millions of weed seeds that are scattered broadcast over our fields, meadows, pastures, and prairies. Some kinds live almost entirely upon insects; while others hunt out and destroy such small animals as mice, ground squirrels, and gophers. Still others, like some of the useful insects, act as scavengers by helping to remove decaying things that would make us sick if not cleared away. In addition to these direct benefits which we derive from the birds, we are further indebted to them for the cheer which their gay music, bright plumage, and pleasant manners bring to us. The birds form a carefully planned army of, police, which is engaged in keeping things in nature about us balanced. But we can go even further when summing up the benefits that human beings derive from birds. A great many kinds provide us with excellent food, while others furnish downy feathers for making soft pillows upon which to rest our weary heads and warm coverlets for use upon our beds during the long cold winters. Everybody knows that birds sometimes also do harm. It is therefore our duty to learn just what this is and whether or not it is as great as some people try to make us believe. Quite a number of different kinds of birds are con- tinually doing things that we call wrong. If we only know of these wrongs and nothing of the good things which they do it might go pretty hard with our feathered neighbors. Some of the wrongs that are perpetrated by birds, or at least which are credited to them, are such as cherry stealing, grain eating, grape puncturing, apple pecking, corn pulling, the carrying of various kinds of bark and other plant lice on their legs and feet from place to place, the spreading of hog cholera by crows and turkey buzzards, the robbing of eggs and young birds from nests and even the poultry yard. ; Some of these so-called crimes are genuine and are to be regretted. Others are more imaginary than real. A few of them could be prevented in part or altogether, while others might be made less severe, if we were inclined to take the trouble to do it. After all that can be said in favor of and against the usefulness of birds in general, there can be but little doubt left in the minds of thinking and observing people as to the value of these creatures. Only ignorant and thoughtless persons will continue to destroy our birds indis- criminately after learning the actual facts about them. So varied is the task of ‘‘evening up” in nature spoken of above, that if attended to in the right way, the workers should be many and necessarily have widely different habits. That such really is the case, can easily be seen from a perusal of the following short account of the food habits of some of the different groups of our Nebraska birds: Grebes and loons feed chiefly on snails and other water animals such as are found about, ponds, lakes, and rivers. They also destroy grasshoppers and other destructive insects when these latter are found about their haunts. ‘The gulls, with their long wings and great powers of flight, often reach far inland in their journeys. Whenever they do they catch large numbers of 7 grasshoppers, crickets, June-beetles, and other common ‘insects. Four or five kinds of these birds breed in our state in large numbers every summer, and may frequently be seen following the farmer as his plow turns up the juicy but destructive grubs. ° The ducks and geese, like their tame relatives, are also very fond of insects, which they catch about the margins of ponds and lakes near which they build their nests and raise their young. Even such birds as the bitterns and other herons kill many insects in addition to the snails, fishes, frogs, and other small animals which in part make up their bill of fare. The different kinds of snipes and their relatives are also great destroyers of insects. Moving over the landscape, as many of them do, in large flocks which spread out over the meadows, pastures, hillsides, and fields, they per- form a large amount of systematic police service in discovering and arresting the rascals among insects. They even pry them out of the cracks and holes in the ground where they have crawled and are hiding during the daytime. This they are enabled to do on account of the long, slender bills with which they are provided. The Prairie Chicken and Sharp-tailed Grouse, as well as the Quail or ‘‘ Bob- white,” all feed almost entirely on insects during the summer. They also eat large numbers of these creatures during the remainder of the year whenever they can get them. The Quail especially is to be considered one of our very best insect destroyers, since it eats both the Colorado potato beetle and the chinch-bug. Perhaps no other bird on the farm pays higher prices for the little grain it gets than does the Quail. Living about hedge-rows, groves, and in ravines, where insects gather and lurk during the greater part of the year, this bird discovers and devours large numbers of these enemies daily. Not only during the summer months when these vermin are moving about, but all winter, too, it scratches among the fallen leaves, and other rubbish seeking for hibernating insects of variouskinds. Being a timid bird it seldom leaves cover to feed openly in the fields, and therefore does little real harm in the way of destroying grain. Even the barnyard fowls do much in the way of destroying many different kinds of insects throughout the summer months. Where fields of grain can be gone over systematically by chickens, turkeys, guinea hens, and ducks, little or no damage is done by grasshoppers, cut-worms, and other similar pests, unless, of course, these insects are too numerous to be eaten by them. Ordinarily doves and pigeons are not considered harmful, yet they eat but fewinsects. But, on the other hand, many weed seeds, as sunflower, ragweed, foxtail, etc., are eaten by them. Perhaps, all told, the good done by them during the year will greatly overbalance the harm caused by their visits to the grain fields and feed lots. During recent years, since we began studying more carefully just what our various kinds of birds have been eating, it has been learned that many of those which we heretofore called rascals should really be considered as friends. Hawks and owls, all of which were killed on sight by nearly every man or boy who could shoot, are now spared, except when caught in the very act of stealing chickens. This change is due to the fact that we now know that 8 they feed mostly on mice, squirrels, gophers, prairie dogs, and rabbits, as well as on many harmful kinds of insects. Our Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos feed chiefly on hairy cater- pillars and several other kinds of insects which they find lurkimg among the leaves of trees. Although considered among our shyer species, they even come about our houses and venture into towns and cities for their favorite insect food. : There are few persons who will not admit that the woodpeckers as a family are very useful birds. Feeding as they do, on the young of wood-boring insects, they can do more relative good for the number of insects destroyed than if they feed on such kinds as attack the leaves. A single.borer left undis- turbed might kill a tree, while hundreds of leaf eaters of the same size would scarcely be noticed ifwarning of their presence depended on the effect their feed- ing had upon the appearance of the same tree. The commonest kinds of wood- peckers in Nebraska are the Flicker, Red-headed, Downy, and Hairy, all of which are often seen about our groves and orchards, where they carefully hunt for borers and other harmful insects. Birds like the Whippoorwill, Nighthawk, and Chimney Swift eat nothing but insects such as they catch in the air while flying about. The first two are night fliers, while the other is one of our birds that flies and feeds during daytime. The family to which the King-bird or Bee-bird belongs is also one that is made up of insect eaters. They catch such kinds as flies, butterflies, moths, beetles, and grasshoppers. The few bees eaten by the Bee-bird should not count against the other members of the family, nor should we blame even the bee-killer himself too much for the occasional rascal of his kind that prefers to sit near a hive and catch drones and, rarely, a worker. Crows and their relatives, the magpies and jays, are sometimes called rascals. Perhaps there is good reason in a number of cases for giving these birds so bad a name; but we must not judge them too hastily, for sometimes there are good deeds done even by the greatest of rascals. After finding out what these deeds are, good and bad, we may think that enough good has been done to at least give the ‘‘rascal’” another chance. All of these birds eat more insects, bulk for bulk, than they do of any other substance. The Blue Jay does much of the mischief for which we blame the Robin, orioles, and thrushes, and then sneaks away like a thief. He also robs the nests of our smaller and weaker birds at times. To partly offset these mean traits he destroys large numbers of injurious insects. The meadowlarks, orioles, and blackbirds are the most important destroyers of such insect pests as attack field crops. They remain with us during the whole year save for only a few months in the winter; gathering in large flocks, as several kinds.do, they can wipe out an insect plague in a short time. The large flocks of red-winged blackbirds which visit our cornfields do so to secure the destructive ear-worm which abounds at that time of the year, and not for the corn, as many of us suppose. Don’t kill any of these useful birds, because they more than pay for the vegetable food which they eat. Our sparrows and their relatives of the family Fringillidae form a very ex- 9 tensive group of highly useful, as well as beautiful, birds. They spend most of their time during the summer months when not actually occupied with nest building and rearing their young, in hunting for and destroying different, kinds of insects. But this is not all the good they do. In fall, winter, and early spring, when Mother Earth has lost her beautiful green dress and is clothed instead in somber browns and wrapped in a mantle of snow and ice, the longspurs, snowbuntings, snowbirdsandsome of the sparrows that have remained with us, are busily engaged in gathering for themselves a living. They hop and fly about from place to place hunting for and picking up little seeds of grasses, weeds, shrubs, and trees with which to feed themselves and keep alive until the warm weather of spring returns and brings back to them the abundant supply of nourishing insects of which they are so fond. Even during this busy cold season, they chirrup merrily as they work, so satisfied are they with the kind of life they are living. The English, or European House-sparrow, has the worst reputation of the entire family. But even this bird has some good traits which tend to secure for it ouf friendship. The swallows, as we all know, are insect destroyers; and, seizing their prey as they fly, they naturally take such forms among these pests as flies, gnats, and mosquitoes—our worst personal enemies. We should by all means encourage these birds to build their nests in our barns and sheds in order that they may pay rent by destroying the various flies that attack and worry ourselves and our domestic animals. The shrikes or butcher-birds are genuine brigands or pirates when it comes to killing other forms of life. They are true to their name, and butcher large numbers of insects, mice, lizards, small snakes, and even occasionally a few of the smaller birds. They take their prey to some thorn bush or barbwire fence and impale the victims for future use or to dry up and blow away. The good they do will more than outweigh the harm which they inflict. ‘The vireos or greenlets, as they are commonly called, which frequent thickets and hedgerows, live almost entirely upon an insect diet. Their food is composed chiefly of little caterpillars and grubs picked from the leaves of small trees.and shrubs which form the shelter in which they make their homes. They are not entirely averse to eating some of the hairy forms, and in this respect aid the cuckoos mentioned in a preceding paragraph. The warblers are insect destroyers. Brightly-colored, active creatures as they are, they fill a gap in nature which would be empty without them. They flit about the terminal twigs and leaves of our trees and shrubs where they detect and capture many of our smaller, but at the same time very dangerous, insect pests. Plant-lice and the smaller caterpillars are at times quite prominent in their bill of fare. Much could be written about birds like the wrens, the Mockingbird, and the Catbird, but they are too well known in one way or another to make it neces- sary to spend time or space here for the purpose of introducing them anew. Suffice it to say, that they more than pay for what they eat by killing off some of the decidedly harmful insects. Then, too, they are to be numbered among the most beautiful singers of the feathered choir, which latter fact in itself fully offsets the harm done by them in the way of fruit eating. 10 The nuthatches, titmice, and others of our winter and early spring birds are too well known as friends to make it necessary here to even hint at their usefulness. The eggs of many hibernating insects are quite prominent among the things eaten by them throughout the season when the trees are bare and bird food is scarce. The Robin and the Bluebird need no introduction even to our boys and girls. We all know them only to wish that their numbers could be greatly increased. The former as it hops over the grass-covered lawn in search of cut-worms, is engaged in its chief occupation. Seventeen quarts of caterpil- lars, it is claimed, is the average numberof such insects destroyed by each robin annually; and of this quantity about one-half or more are cut-worms. We need not stop to ask whether or not the destruction of these will pay for the cherries and berries eaten. Summing up the work of our birds as relates to their destruction of insects, it can be briefly stated as follows: ‘In the air swallows and swifts are coursing rapidly to and fro, ever .n pursuit of the insects which constitute their sole food. When they retire, the night-hawks and whippoorwills take up the chase, catching moths and other nocturnal insects which would escape the dayflying birds. Flycatchers lie in wait, darting from ambush at passing prey, and with a suggestive click of the bill returning to their post. The warblers, light, active creatures, flutter about the terminal foliage, and with almost the skill of a humming- bird, pick insects from leaf or blossom. The vireos patiently explore the under sides of leaves and odd nooks and corners to see that no skulker escapes. The woodpeckers, nuthatches, and creepers attend to the trunks and limbs, examining carefully each inch of bark for insects’ eggs and larvae, or excavat- ing for the ants and borers they hear within. On the ground the hunt is con- tinued bythe thrushes, sparrows, and other birds that feed on the innumer- able forms of terrestrial insects. Few places in which insects exist are neg- lected; even some species which pass their entire lives in the water are preyed upon by aquatic birds.’”’* . In nearly every case where the food habits of our birds have been care- fully studied, do we find that the good done far exceeds the possible harm that might be inflicted by our birds. Allowing twenty-five insects per day as an average diet for each individual bird, and estimating that we have about one and one-half birds to the acre, or in round numbers 75,000,000 birds in Nebraska, there would be required 1,875,000,000 insects for each day’s rations. Again estimating the number of insects required to fill a bushel at 120,000, it would take 15,625 bushels of'insects to feed our birds for a single day, or 2,343,750 bushels for 150 days. These estimates are very low when we take into account the numbers of insects that various kinds of our birds have been known to destroy in a single day. For example, the stomach of four chickadees contained 1,028 eggs of cankerworms. Four others contained about 600 eggs and 105 mature females of this same insect. The stomach o *Frank M. Chapman in Bird Life—D. Appleton & Co. 11 of a single Bob-white contained 101 potato-beetles; and that of another upwards of 500 chinch-bugs. A yellow-billed cuckoo shot at six jp the morning contained forty-three tent caterpillars. A robin had eaten 175 larvae of Bibio, which feed upon the roots of grasses, etc. Birds, like all other animals, feed upon that food which is most readily obtained, hence the insectivorous kinds destroy those insects which are the most numerous—the injurious species; and likewise the seed-eaters subsist largely upon the seeds of our weeds. "mM~NOQahwWhNre TOPOGRAPHY OF BOHEMIAN WAXWING FOR BEGINNERS Upper mandible. Culmen. Nostril. Forehead. Lores. Superciliary stripe. Crown. Crest. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Occput. Auriculars or ear-coverts. Nape. Interscapular region. Back. Scapulars. Tertials. Rump. 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 39 40 41 42 13 Upper tail-coverts. 29 Greater wing-coverts. Tail feathers, _. 80 Middle wing-coverts First primary. 31 Breast. Primaries. 32 Lesser wing-coverts. Tarsus. 33 Carpal joint. Hind toe. 34 Jugulum. Outer toe. : 35 Throat. Middle toe. "36 Chin. Inner toe. 37 Gape. Abdomen or belly. 38 Lower mandible. Secondaries. 39a Cere on bill. Side. TYPES OF BILLS AND FEET Strongly hooked bill of hawk. 43 Lobate foot of Pied-billed Grebe. Falcate bill of Mexican Crossbill. 44 Palmate foot of duck. Tubular nostril of Fulmar Petrel. 45 Totipalmate foot of cormorant. Raptorial foot of Long-eared Owl. DIAGRAM SHOWING THE VARIOUS FEATHER TRACTS ON THE WING OF A BIRD (FROM CORY’S BIRDS OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA) 138. 13. 15 SYNOPSES AND LIST THE ORDERS OF NEBRASKA BIRDS Hind toe connected by web with inner front toe....... III. Steganopodes. Hind toe, if present, not connected with inner front toe............(2) 2. Cutting edges of bill more or less fringed or serrated . IV. Anseres. 2. Cutting edges of bill not fringed or serrated... .............. (3) Legs inserted in the rear of the body; toes webbed or lobed. I. Pygopodes. Legs inserted near middle of body, or else toes not webbed... ........(4) 4. Front toes distinctly webbed, and tarsus shorter than tail.... Rie Miatec santin dss siete ay pantera les eatawle tlasapet meher acs ig 3 . II. Longipennes. 4. Front toes not distinctly webbed, or else tarsus longer than tail. (5) Tibia more or less naked below; waders.............. 000s eens (6) Tibia entirely feathered; not waders. ... ........ 0. cece eee ee eee (8) 6. Hind toe long and on the same level as the others; lores naked eT ee ee ee ee ... V. Herodiones. 6. Hind toe, if present, small and elevated; lores feathered... ... (7) If more than 3 feet long, hind toe elevated; if less, on the same level. LIRA a ERE ET eae Mie Paid cole, Never more than three feet long, hind toe, if present, elevated..... si pitt auinaeeada ie AAMAS at then SMSUN ach Baa cateytla-t aided Gus whiny VII. Limicolz. 8. Bill strongly hooked, and with distinct naked cere at base..... (9) 8. Bill not both strongly hooked and cered; or if cered the bill straight Sdibtcctc Achy la Codnee) eal frye) dilioe Mee ceanciuct eich iret ia tod eC LO) Toes 38 in front, the outer toe sometimes reversible. . .X. Raptores. Toes. 2 in front, 2 behind. « 4 <5 ¢s60406 Wr dae peeadiecce XI. Psittaci. 10. Hind toe short, decidedly elevated. ... ......VIII. Galline. 10. Hind toe but very slightly elevated, ifatall............... (11) Bill with a soft swollen cere... 0... eee IX. Columbe. Bill “without; CPs sis cece-y Piece We Wa thon Pardee dua een A Ae aR (12) 12. Wing very long, tail feathers 10, gape very wide and deeply cleft; or else bill long and slender and secondaries 6. ..XIV. Macrochires. 12. Wing not very long and gape not wide or deeply cleft; or else tail feathers: 12. ssseue