BIRD PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY THE IOWA 0RN1TIMOLOGI§TS' U^liO^ J VOL. VE MARCH, 1936 NO. 1 OFFICERS OF THE IOWA ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION President — Dr. George O. Hendrickson, Ames, Iowa Vice-President — J, Wilbur Dole, Fairfield, Iowa Sec’y-Treas.— -Miss Kate E. LaMar, Des Moines, Iowa Editor— Fred J. Pierce, Winthrop, Iowa Executive Council: 0. S. Thomas (Chairman.), Rock Rapids, Iowa Walter M. Rosene, Ogden, Iowa Arthur J. Paias, Des Moines, Iowa Ex-officio Council Members (Past Presidents) : Walter M. Rosene Walter W. Bennett Arthur J , Paias Dr. F. L. R. Roberts The Iowa Ornithologists* Union was organized at Ames, Iowa, February 28, 1028, for the study and protection of native birds and to promote fraternal re- lations among Iowa bird students. The central design of the Union's official seal is the Eastern Goldfinch, designated State Bird of Iowa in 1388, Publications of the Union: Mimeographed letters, 1028-1028; 'The Bulletin,' 1029-1080 ; ‘Iowa Bird Life, 1 beginning 1031. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In Iowa, $1,00 a year. Outside of Iowa, 50c a year. Special rate for all libraries, public or college, 50c a year. Single copies 15c each. (Keep the Editor informed of your correct address.) EDITORIAL AND PUBLICATION OFFICE ’WINTHROP, IOWA Entered as second-das 1 * matter February 9 r 1332. at the po»t office at Winthrop, Iowa, under the Act of March 3, 1379, IOWA. BIRD LIFE— VI, 1336 n i4 PRAIRIE CHICKEN IN IOWA 3 THE PRESENT STATUS OF THE PRAIRIE CHICKEN IN IOWA By WM. YOUNG WORTH S’aux City, Iowa The Prairie Chicken is a bird of the wild, unbroken tracts of prai- rie meadow. In Iowa we have few such areas left that are large enough to furnish ample nesting cover for more than a few pairs of the birds at most. Such nesting areas can be artificially created by leaving large blue grass pastures unpastured for a season or two. This should be done in all parts of the state where Prairie Chickens still exist. These areas should be state-owned game refuges. A splendid example of letting a pasture revert to nature is found in the change in the luxuriance of present plant growth in Dewey's Pasture, a state-owned refuge. This area, near Ruthven, was found to be a barren over-pastured field in 1334, but by June, 1935, ample nesting cover had grown up and furnished nesting sites for quite a few birds. The growth on the area in September, 1935, was a real contrast to the close-cropped pasture of the year before. This refuge should reach near capacity as a nesting region for waterfowl and game birds during the nidification season of 193G. A preliminary survey of resident Prairie Chickens in Iowa has been made during the past few years by the writer. Personal obser- vations have been made in most parts of the state. This survey is not in any sense complete, for reports of resident birds will come in from time to time from various parts of the state as long as there are any Prairie Chickens left in Iowa. The present note is confined to a brief summary of some of the findings and includes remarks on the Iowa counties where one can still expect to find a few Prairie Hens. The general areas which hold the most resident birds arc the ex- treme north centraL counties and the extreme south central counties. There are other scattered and almost isolated areas in nearly all parts of the state. The southern area includes, roughly, Davis, Appanoose, Monroe, Lucas, Wayne, Clarke and Decatur Counties, The border counties in northwestern Missouri still hold a fair number of resident Prairie Chickens, and it is reasonable to believe that the border coun- ties in Iowa, namely, Fremont, Page, Taylor and Ringgold, might harbour a few birds which would stray from the Missouri counties. While I do not have any personal records of the species in these coun- ties, I came across two or three reports which seemed reliable. Another small area which is centered by Polk County accounts for a small number of resident birds. There are summer records as late as 1934 in the following counties: Polk, Boone, Dallas. Warren, Marion, Mahaska and Jasper, Two seemingly isolated counties which have a few" resident birds as yet are Cass County in the southwest and Louisa County on the Mississippi River in the southeastern part of the state. To be explicit, the Cass County resident flocks are found near the towns of Wiota and Massena, and the Louisa County birds are to be found on the area northwest of the town of Wapello and known by the old settlers as the Wapello Prairie. In the northeast part of the state, resident birds are still found in Buchanan, Blackhawk, Bremer, Fayette, Winneshiek, Chickasaw, Howard and Mitchell Counties. There are several other counties to the west of the above mentioned counties where undoubtedly a few resident pairs of birds still hold out. Other counties which border Minnesota, namely Worth, Winnebago and Kossuth still have a resi- 4 IOWA BIRD LIFE — VI, 1936 dent population. A few resident birds are also found in Wright ^ In the northwest lake counties of Palo Alto, Emmet, Clay and Dickinson, Prairie Chickens are also found as residents in small num- bers. A few pairs of birds are still to be found in the following western counties; Crawford, Harrison, Monona, Woodbury and Lyon. There are recent definite records from the above counties, and the writer believes that a careful search in most of the other northwest counties would reveal the presence of resident birds in small numbers. SUBSTITUTE FOR PRAIRIE CHICKEN During the recent severe winter, Rmn-neekCfi Pheasant* in northern Iowa were unable to withstand the cold and deep Knows and perished by thousands. Sportsmen s organizations and other croups saved many of th>‘ birds by feed i air them. inis photo* craph, from the Iowa State Conservation Commission, shows ti small Hock leathered at a feed ins place. The fall migration of the Prairie Chicken is of regular occurrence in Iowa. However, the influx of northern birds is much greater in some years, probably due to extremely severe weather conditions, abnormal snows, or the scarcity of food caused by droughts. The fall flight in 1928 was the heaviest ever witnessed by the writer, and flocks of several dozens of birds were not uncommon. A fairly good flight was witnessed during the winter of 1934-1935 with northern birds being found well down past the middle of the state. Large flocks were then found in many parts of the state, from the northeast corner to the Missouri River country. Several good-sized flocks of chickens were noticed in Guthrie and Adair Counties. These birds were considered migrants rather than residents, although this region is rather south of the usual line of migration. Thus we find that the Prairie Hon still inhabits the major portion of Iowa, blit in sadly depleted numbers and under the most trying con- ditions. How much longer this fine native grouse can hold out is a question, and one which we alone can decide. The birds must have protected breeding grounds. These areas need not be closed to hunt- ing of other legal game, but must be closed to pasturing lor all time. Over-pasturing of large pastures where Prairie Chickens could nest safely is the main factor in the solution to save this species in Iowa. Two angles to this fact are the direct destruction of the nests by cattle GENERAL NOTES 0 and the dose-cropping of the grass, which, if done early in the season, precludes any chance for nest building and, if allowed later on, ex- poses the nests to the natural enemies of the birds. Protected nesting areas would increase the present stock of birds many times in a few short years. It is highly probable that such areas would also prove attractive to some of the migrating Prairie Chickens and induce them to stay and nest on these inviting tracts. The cost of nesting areas would not be small, of course, and we would want to have such areas wherever a few pairs of birds still existed, to be fair to tax-payers in all corners of the state. Large sums of public money have been spent to bring in foreign game birds and to propagate these birds. Why not spend a little money to save our na- tive game birds? Protected nesting areas would benefit not only the Prairie Chicken but all other game as well. The brief cursory survey given above shows that we have a breeding stock of Prairie Chickens left in Iowa and that we still have time to save them from being erased from our state faunal list, GENERAL NOTES A Flock of Cardinals. — While hiking through Castle Hill on Feb- ruary 9, 1935, I saw a flock of 10 Cardinals feeding in a pasture just olT the highway. At my approach all flew into nearby low trees and a little later flew to more distant trees. I had never before seen a flock of Cardinals, although the bird is a common permanent resident in Black Hawk County. — JOHN BLIESE, Waterloo, Iowa, The Arkansas Kingbird in Linn County, — On June 2, 1935, Mrs. Jones and I saw an Arkansas Kingbird between Coggin and Central City in Linn County, Iowa. We observed it at 100 yards or less with 12x binoculars for quite a time, and we noted its fail markings, its flight, its habits of feeding on the ground, and other characteristics. We had the Crested Flycatcher for comparison in a nearby woods. We are familiar with the Arkansas Kingbird in western Iowa. — MYRLE L. JONES, Pomeroy, Iowa. The Arkansas Kingbird in Northeast Iowa. — ^The Arkansas Kingbird is steadily extending its summer range into the Mississippi Valley. On July 1G, 1035, the writer saw an adult Arkansas Kingbird near Osborne, Clayton County, and later in the day he saw another bird near Waukon Junction, Allamakee County. — WM. YOUNG WORTH, Sioux City, Iowa. Anderson Printed His Own Local Bird LUt.— Previous to the writing of the ‘Birds of Iowa,' which was published by the Davenport Academy of Science in 1907, Dr. Rudolph M. Anderson printed the ‘List of the Birds of Winnebago and Hancock Counties, Iowa.' In a letter from Dr, Anderson, now Chief Biologist at the National Museum of Canada, Ottawa, on December 14, 1934, he related the manner in which this early publication was produced, as follows: “This list was not my first published contribution, but was my first separate or independent publication, and was printed in the office of ‘The Independent’ at Forest City, Iowa, a weekly newspaper which my father founded about 1887. Quite naturally, I made some use of the facilities of the office for printing data blanks, field catalogues, and in one instance to print and issue a local bird list. I think that I printed 125 to 150 copies of the latter, and in looking it over, I am glad to see that there are very few errors that I need to correct.”— PHILIP A. DU MONT, Des Moines, Iowa, 6 IOWA BIRD LIFE— VI, 1936 Record, of the Short-billed Marsh Wren-While con- ducting a field trip with a group of 40 students of the ” 1 d , School at McGregor. August G, 1935, I observed four Short-billed Marsh Wrens on one of the islands in the Mississippi River; two more birds were found on another island. They were all m rather tall, thick grass, on dry ground and at least 50 feet from any water with no rushes of any kind near. After returning to my home (Boone County) , I was collecting some blazing star (Liatris) in a moist meadow where the same sort of coarse grass was growing. Here I observed another specimen of this wren. Although I did not have my binoculars, I approached within 10 feet of this bird, and I observed the crown and noted the absence of the line over the eye. This was on August l^. My conclusion is that these birds have nested in northeastern as well as in central Iowa.— W. M. ROSENE, Ogden, Iowa. The Red Crossbill at Pomeroy. — On October 14, 1935, we were pleasantly surprised to find a male Red Crossbill in one of our banding traps, which was located near a bird-bath under a row of sunflowers. I had the bird on display that evening and at the city school the next morning, then liberated him at about nine o'clock. I was considerably worried when I saw him alight in an elm tree very near the windo\ , where he stayed for over an hour, hardly moving all the while. I rather expected to see some youngster bring him into the school ex- hausted or dead, so was especially pleased when, tour days later, 1 found the same bird on the sunflowers and approached within arm s length. After another five days he brought his lady friend to our yaiit, but she refused to enter any traps. — MYRLE L. JONES, Pomeroy, Iowa. Starlings in Jefferson County.— I have an early record of the Star- ling which Mr. DuMont sometime ago suggested I send in. On Decem- ber 23, 1930, I saw a dozen birds which I decided were Starlings, t saw them again on December 25 and on January 1, 19ol, when I studied them carefully and noted their distinguishing marks, as well as listened to their singing. My next record was September at which time four appeared and fought with some Red-headed Wood- peckers over a hollow tree. The woodpeckers won. Since then the Starling has been here almost continuously and nested in this county in 1933. Last summer I found a roost of over 1000 Starlings, MAL- COLM McDonald, Fair lield, Iowa. Bird-banders of Iowa.— A recent report by the Biological Survey shows no bander in Iowa in the upper brackets as to number of birds banded during the fiscal year ending June 30, l93o. Only eight banders in the country are included in this group. However, among the 29 banders who banded between 500 and 800 birds appear the names of three Iowans: M. L. Jones of Pomeroy, Malcolm McDonald of Fairfield, and Gustav Schultz of Sutherland. Dr. Dayton Stonei of Aibanv N. Y.. formerly connected with the University of Iowa, was also in this group. Mrs. Marie Dales of Sioux City is in the next highest group, those who bander! between 300 and oOO birds. The Survey received two pictures from Allen Green of Oakville. Iowa, showing Mallards and Wood Ducks on his game sanctuary, and a flashlight picture showing Charles J. S piker of Branch port. N. i ., and another codperator with the equipment they use to capture swal- lows roosting at night in cattail marshes and willow thickets Mr. Spiker is a former Iowan and a Founder of the Iowa Ornithologists Union.— DR. MARY PRICE ROBERTS. GENERAL NOTES 7 Nutull's Poor-will in Clay County. — Between the hours of one and two A. M., May 29, 1935, a Poor-will was heard singing almost con- tinuously at Mud Lake, near Ruthven, in Ciay County, Iowa. The repeated phrases "Poor-will" sounded much like the last two syllables of the Whip-poor-will’s song, and varied in intensity as if the bird were continually changing its position with respect to the listener. This gave the impression that the bird was singing on the wing, over the lake. It was a bright moonlight night; the temperature was about 58 degrees F. — GEORGE A. AMMANN, Museum of Zoology, Ann Arbor, Mich. The Starling in the 98th Iowa County. — The reporting of the Star- ling for Buena Vista County leaves only one county in Iowa without an actual record of the Starling. On August 25, 1935, the writer found two Starlings 10 miles north of Alta, Buena Vista County; two more birds were seen 13 miles north of the same town. The rest of the day was spent in driving on the highways and section roads in Osceola County in a fruitless search to add a Starling record for the only unreported county in the state. Over 125 miles were covered in Osceola County in an effort to complete the original Starling survey started by Philip A. Du Mont.— WM. YOUNGWORTH, Sioux City, Iowa. Red Crossbills at Dubuque. — On the afternoon of January 28, 1936, I watched 21 Red Crossbills in Linwood Cemetery for a half hour. They appeared to be in two flocks, as they separated and joined several times as I watched them. Their note, sounded singly and on the wing, resembled that of the Goldfinch, but given in unison might be mistaken for the alarmed chatter of a flock of Bob-whites.—ETHAN A. HEM- SLEY, Dubuque, Iowa. The Christmas Bird Census. — TAMA, IOWA {along highway No. 63 between Tama and Truer; food-shelf at home), Dec, 25, 1935. Red- tailed Hawk, 2; Marsh Hawk, 1; Bob-white, 10; Ring-necked Pheasant, 2; Barred Owl, 1; Red-bellied Woodpecker, 1; Red-headed Woodpecker, 3; Hairy Woodpecker, 2; Downy Woodpecker, 2; Blue Jay, 3; Crow, 15; Black-capped Chickadee, 12; Tufted Titmouse, 10; White-breasted Nuthatch, 3; Brown Creeper, 2; Starling, 63; Meadowlark, 21; Cardi- nal, 2; Goldfinch, 3; Tree Sparrow, 7; Slate-colored Junto, 23. Total, 21 species, 18S individuals, (Thirteen of the species were photo- graphed in colored motion pictures). — MR, AND MRS. W. G. MAC- MARTIN. WEBSTER, IOWA (farm lands and woods), Dec. 26, 1935; 9:30 A. M. to 1:30 P. M. Four inches or more of snow on the ground; bitter north wind; temp. -12 degrees at start, -4 at return, with -2 at warmest time. Bob-white, 5; Red-bellied Woodpecker, 3; Red-headed Woodpecker, 7; Hairy Woodpecker, 2; Downy Woodpecker, 4; Blue Jay, 7; Crow, 2; Black-capped Chickadee, 14; Tufted Titmouse, 6; White-breasted Nuthatch, 4; Starling, 2; Cardinal, 6; Pine Siskin, 16; Tree Sparrow. 6; Slate-colored Junco, 40. Total, 15 species, 124 in- dividuals.— MYRLE L. JONES, HARRY TELLES, (The February issue of ‘Bird-Lore’ contained Iowa bird censuses from Backbone State Park, Des Moines, Ogden, Pierson and Sioux City, with a combined total of 49 species. An innovation in connec- tion with the censuses in this issue of ‘Bird-Lore' is the inclusion of photographs of prominent persons who participated in the census. The Iowa section contains the likenesses of Mrs. Toni Wendelburg and Walter Roscne, Sr. — Ed.) 8 IOWA BIRD LIFE— VI, 13313 Bird Migration at Dubuque.— ^Below is given the composite list of migrants observed by members of the Dubuque Bird Club during the spring of 1335. The birds were seen in the Dubuque region, and the “first seen’' date is given for each species. Loon, May 3. Pied-billed Grebe, May 1. Double-cr. Cormorant, Apr. 19. Great Blue Heron, Mar. 31. Green Heron, May 6. Black-crowned Heron, May 11. Am. Bittern, Apr. 28. Mallard, Mar. 31. Blue-winged Teal, Mar, 27. Shoveller, Apr. 16. Scaup Duck, Mar. 27. Turkey Vulture, May 21. Red-tailed Hawk, Mar. 24, Bald Eagle, Mar. 27. King Rail, May 11. Virginia Rail, May 14. Sora Rail, May 5. Florida Gallinule. May 16. Am. Coot, Apr. 16. Semi-pal. Plover, May 11, Killdeer, Mar. 12, Woodcock, Mar. 29. Wilson's Snipe, Apr. 10. Upland Plover, Apr. 29. Spotted Sandpiper, May 11, Solitary Sandpiper, May 1. Greater Yellow- legs, Apr. 16. Lesser Yellow-legs, Apr. 28. Pectoral Sandpiper, May 6. White- rump. Sandpiper, May 6. Least Sandpiper, May 3. Semi-pal. Sandpiper, May 6 Wilson’s Phalarope, Apr. 29. Herring Gull, Jan. G. Ring-billed Gull, Mar. 18. Forster's Tern, May 3. Least Tern, May 19. Black Tern, May 9. Mourning Dove, Mar. 22. Yellow-billed Cuckoo, May 31. Black-billed Cuckoo, May 30. Whip-poor-will, May 9. Night hawk. May 6. Chimney Swift, Apr. 20. Ruby-thr. Hummingbird, Apr. 20. Belted Kingfisher, Mar. 31. Flicker, Apr, 2, Pileated Woodpecker, Feb. 2. Red-h. Woodpecker, Mar. 30. Yellow-b. Sapsucker, Apr. 3. Kingbird, May 1. Crested Flycatcher, May 15. Phoebe. Mar. 21. Alder Flycatcher, May 10. Least Flycatcher, Apr. 21. Wood Pewee, Apr. 28, Tree Swallow, Apr. 29. Bank Swallow, Apr. 29, Rough-winged Swallow, Apr. 27. Barn Swallow, May 12. Cliff Swallow, May 10. Purple Martin, Mar. 28, Red-br. Nuthatch, May 10. Brown Creeper, Apr. 8. House Wren, Apr, 29, Prairie Marsh Wren, May 5. Catbird, Apr. 28. Brown Thrasher, Apr, 13. Robin, Feb. 21. Wood Thrush, Apr. 17. Hermit Thrush, Apr. 16. Olive-backed Thrush, Apr. 23. Gray-cheeked Thrush, May 13. Bluebird, Feb. 27. Blue-gr, G ratcatcher. May 21. Golden cr. Kinglet, Jan. 4. Ruby-cr. Kinglet, Apr. 2. Bohemian Waxwing, Feb. 13. Cedar Waxwing, Mar. 12. Migrant Shrike, Mar. 25. Yellow-thr. Vireo, May 14. Blue-headed Vireo, May 20. Reel-eyed Vireo, May 11. Warbling Vireo, Apr. 24. Black & White Warbler, May 5. Prothonotarv Warbler, May 3, Golden-wd. Warbler, May 14. Blue-wd. Warbler, May 10. Tenn. Warbler, May 9, Nashville Warbler, May 10. Parula Warbler, May 21. Yellow Warbler, May 2. Magnolia Warbler, May 10. Mvrtle Warbler, Apr. 15, Black-thr. Gr. Warbler, May 14. Cerulean Warbler, May 18, Blackburnian Warbler, May 8. Ohestnut-sd. Warbler, May 8. Bay-breasted Warbler, May 14. Black-poll Warbler, May 21. Palm Warbler, May 3. Oven-bird, May 5. GnnnelPs W. -Thrush, May 3. Mourning Warbler, May 14. Northern Yellowthroat, May 8, Yellow-breasted Chat, May 14, Canada Warbler, May 18. Am. Redstart, Apr. 29. GENERAL NOTES 9 Bobolink, May 11. E. Meadowlark, Mar, 12. W. Meadowlark, Apr. 18, Yellow-hd. Blackbird, May 19. Red-wd. Blackbird, Mar. 13. Orchard Oriole, May 21. Baltimore Oriole, May 2. Bronzed Crackle, Mar. 12, Cowbird, Mar. 29. Scarlet Tanager, May 8. Rose-br. Grosbeak, Apr. 29. Indigo Bunting, May 6. Dickcissel, May 14. Purple Finch, Apr. 3. Pine Siskin, Feb. 13. Goldfinch, Apr. 2, Red Crossbill, Apr. 9. Towhee, Apr. 25. Savannah Sparrow, Apr. lb. Vesper Sparrow, Mar. 30, Chipping Sparrow, Apr. 7. Field Sparrow, Apr. 7, White-thr. Sparrow, Apr. 18. Fox Sparrow, Mar. 17, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Apr. 14. Swamp Sparrow, Mar. 16. Song Sparrow, Mar, 12, — MRS. R. W. JOHNSON, Dubuque, Iowa. A Red-bellied Woodpecker.— An example of the distrust which some birds have for the Red- bellied Woodpecker was shown me at my home one morning in November, 1935. A bird of this species was looking into the nesting cavity of a pair of Downy Woodpeckers in our English walnut, when suddenly a male Downy appeared and began scolding vigorously. He was soon joined by a female Downy, who also scolded at this inspection of what was probably the Downies’ roosting place at this date. The vociferations of the Downies soon attracted about 100 Slate-colored Juncos, several English Sparrows, four Goldfinches, a pair of Cardinals, a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers, four Tufted Titmice and three White-breasted Nuthatches, all of which flew to nearby trees and eyed the Red-bellied Woodpecker with some alarm, while the Tit- mice and Nuthatches scolded also. After several minutes the flock dispersed by two and threes and left only the Downies continuing the one-sided argument. Finally, the Red-belly, probably bored by so much publicity, flew off. One of the Downies followed him. — LEON- ARD S. PHILLIPS, Le Claire, Iowa. Records Made in Brenton's Slough Region, Polk County, in Fall of 1935. — In company with several members of the Des Moines Audubon Society, I made a number of interesting observations. On September 4, three Stilt Sandpipers in fall plumage and one Baird’s Sandpiper were seen. On this date we saw two Arkansas Kingbirds on a tele- phone wire one mile south of Brenton's Slough. On Beaver Creek, which flows through the wooded section of Brenton’s Slough area, we observed Wood Ducks on the following dates: 2, Oct. 1; 15, Oct. 6; a large flock, not counted, Oct. 10; 17, Oct. 11; several accidentally flushed, Oct. 12. AH of these ducks probably belonged to the same flock. One Leconte’s Sparrow was seen on October 10, and one on October 14. Wc had an unusually good opportunity to observe the bird each time, and recognition marks were plainly seen. On October 11, a flock of about 40 American Pipits were seen scattered over a grassy hillside and an adjoining mud fiat near Beaver Creek. We watched them for twenty minutes. One Pipit was seen on October 14, anti 10 the next day. On November 7, we saw a pair of Bulfle-hoads and one Ruddy Duck. We also saw a flock of 20 Brewer's Blackbirds in company with Red- winged Blackbirds and Starlings, In a pasture we saw a flock of approximately 50 Lapland Longspurs and Prairie Horned Larks, of which the greater number were longspurs. — -MRS. PI A HOLD R. P EAS- LEY, Des Moines, Iowa. 10 IOWA BIRD LIFE— VI, 1936 Publications on Iowa Ornithology during 1935, — -Bennett, Logan J. The 1934 Spring Migration of Shore Birds Through Clay and Palo Alto Counties, Iowa; la. State Coll. Jour, Sci,, IX, pp. 609-616. A Com- parison of Two Iowa Duck Nesting Seasons; Trans, 21st Am. Game Conference, N. Y. City, pp, 277-282. 'Bird-Lore'. Christmas bird censuses from Iowa, XXXVII, pp. 69-70. DuMont, Philip A. Maximum Numbers of Shore-birds in Iowa dur- ing the Spring of 1934; Auk, LII, pp, 83-85. Additional Breeding Birds in Iowa: Oologist, LII, pp. 80-84. The Passenger Pigeon as a Former Iowa Bird; Proc. la. Acad. Sci., XL, 1933, pp. 205-211 (issued in 1935). Caspian Terns in North-central Iowa; Wils. Bull,, XLV1I, p. 72. Northern Phalaropes in Northwestern Iowa; Wils. Bull., XLVII, p. 72. Specimen of Greater Scaup Duck Found in Northern Iowa; Wils. Bulk, XLVII, pp 72-73. A Red-shafted Flicker Secured at Des Moines, Iowa; Wils. Bulk, XLVII, p. 158. Prairie Falcon Records from Northwestern Iowa; Wils. Bull., XLVII, pp, 102-163. Additional Iowa Species of Birds Substantiated by Specimens; Wils. Bulk, XLVII, pp. 205-208. Specimen of European Widgeon Taken in Northwestern Iowa; Wils. Bulk, XLVII, p, 236. Chuck-wills-widow Collected in Southeastern Iowa; Wils. Bulk, XLVII, p. 239. An Old Record of the Brown-headed Nuthatch in Iowa and Illinois; Wils. Bulk, XLVII, p. 24°, Errington, Paul L. Predators and the Northern Bob-white; Am. Forests, Jan., 1935, pp. 7-10, 46. Winter-killing of Mourning Doves in Central Iowa; Wils. Bulk, XLVII, pp. 159-160. Errington, Paul L., and Bennett, Logan J. Food Habits of Burrow- ing Owls in Northwestern Iowa; Wils. Bull., XLVII, pp. 125-128. Errington, Paul L., and Hamerstrom, F. N., Jr, Bob-white Winter Survival on Experimentally Shot and Unshot Areas; la. State Coll. Jour. Sci., IX, pp. 625-639. Hendrickson, George O., and Treneman, Robert. Nests of Crows and Other Birds in the Same Evergreen Grove; Wils. Bulk, XLVII, pp. 295-290, . , ‘Iowa Bird Life'. 47 articles referring to Towa birds in Vok V. Nauman, E D. The ‘Round Robin Letters’ of E. D. Nauruan; Oolo- gist, LII, pp.' 38-40, 50-52, 62-65, 74-76, 86-88, 110-113, 122-124. Vanished Hosts; Palimpsest, XVI, pp. 170-173. Roberts, Thos. S. The Season: Minnesota Region; Bird-Lore, XXXVII, (Iowa notes, p, 294). Smith, Lloyd. An October Record of the American Egret in Lee County, Iowa; Wils. Bulk, XLVII, p. 72. Spawn, Gerald B. The 1934 Fall Migration of Shore Birds Through Clay and Palo Alto Counties, Iowa; la. State Coll. Jour. Sci., IX, pp. 617-624. Swenk, Myron H. A History of Nebraska Ornithology: III. Period of the Explorations of the Early Nineteenth Century (1804-1854); Nebr. Bird Review, III, pp. 115-125 (Iowa records, pp. 121-122). Ibid., p. 129, a few Iowa records are given as part of N. 0. U. bird list. Williams, John R, Kingbird (Tyvannus tyrannus) Attacks Airplane; Auk, LII, p. 89. „ „ . _ _ , Youngworth, Wm. Notes on the American Egret and Little Blue Heron in Iowa; Wils. Bulk, XLVII, pp. 73-74. (The above titles are taken from the Pierce Bibliography. All available material is carefully checked for Iowa references. Authors whose writings appear in obscure publications should send bibliograph- ical information to ‘Iowa Bird Life' so that this yearly list may be made as complete as possible.) — F. J. P. GENERAL NOTES 11 S lory County Notes* — A flock of 10 Greater Prairie Chickens was noted on December 20* 1934, The Short-eared Owl was seen on December 1 and 20* 1934. The Flicker %vas seen on November 20 and December 20, 1034, and probably wintered here. One Meadowlark was seen on November 13, and a pair on November 17, 1934. The Marsh Hawk remained until December 15, 1934, and appeared on April 0, 1935. The first Rough-legged Hawk appeared on October 29, 1934, and 1 saw 30 individual birds ot this species before its departure in late winter. During the fail migration of 1934, I also saw 18 of the Buteo hawks but could not identify them because of distance; probably many of these were Redtails. Dickcissels were unusually scarce during the summer of 1935, the Bobolink was not seen at all, and several other species which are usually noted could not be found. The Starling is increasingly com- mon. The Sparrow Hawk was very common, being recorded on 106 days, from March 19 to October 22, 1935, in numbers varying from one to six birds. The Upland Plover was noted on 31 days, from May 6 to August 2G, 1935: the largest number seen at one time was four. My first record of the Arkansas Kingbird was June 5, 1935; another was seen on September 4. A Red-breasted Nuthatch was ob- served on September 14, 1935, which was my second record for this species. — HENRY BIRKELAND, Nevada, Iowa. October Bird Notes —The first Golden Plover for the fall season was a flock seen near Sioux City on October 1, 1935. One lone plover was seen on October 27 in the same area. Lapland Longspurs were first reported on October 27, 1935, when a good many thousand of the birds were seen on the Hornick Bottoms. On the same day a Prairie Falcon was also seen, and his presence seemed to bother a large flock of longspurs, for they circled about the falcon for ten or fifteen minutes and did not leave until the writer approached too closely to the latter bird. This falcon is an extremely active flyer and no doubt catches longspurs without much difficulty. The bird records for the day were closed with the following entry: “An almost completely albino Red-tailed Hawk, slight coloring on throat and belly, upper parts white, bright red tail.” — WM, YOUNGWORTH, Sioux City, Iowa. The Lazuli Bunting in Warren County. About noon OH July 25, 1935, Mrs. John E. Stewart and I were looking for Mockingbirds re- ported in the vicinity of Center Chapel, located five miles west of India no la in Warren County. We heard what we thought was the song of an Indigo Bunting, Locating the bird in the top branches of a dead tree, wc were surprised to find a male Lazuli Bunting. We watched the bird for an hour with 8-power binoculars. Its behavior seemed to indicate a territory-holding bird. It had three definite sing- ing perches in the immediate vicinity of this tree and one across a small field in an osage orange hedge. It drove a male Indigo Bunting out of its territory, and in so doing, the two birds came to vest for several minutes on a wire fence directly in front of us. Here we had an excellent opportunity to observe them, and we agree with Taverner that, “The adult male Lazuli Bunting is unmistakable,” Early on the morning of July 27, 1935, Mrs. W. G, DuMont, Miss Olivia McCabe, Mrs. John E, Stewart and I found the Bunting acting exactly as before, but a thorough search failed satisfactorily to reveal the female. We believe this is the first record of the Lazuli Bunting this far south and east in Iowa.— MRS. HAROLD R. PEAS LEY, Des Moines, Iowa. 12 IOWA BIRD LIFE — VI, 1930 Lewis 1 ® Woodpecker at Clear Lake* 1 have had a Lewis S Wood pecker eating at a feeding station near my home in Clear Lake, Iowa, during the past winter. The bird was first observed on November 10, 1935, and has been seen daily since then. It is still here (March 1936), and I will take note of the date of its departure. It is a large black woodpecker with a gray band around its neck blending into a robin-red breast. It is about 10 Vb inches in length and is not at all shy. The only other record of the Lewis's Woodpecker in Iowa appears to be the individual that was seen at Sioux City during the winter of 1928-1929. F. H. DAVIS, Iowa State Conservation Commission, Clear Lake, Iowa. Feeding-station Visitors. — We have three feeders for winter birds — one a window shelf, another of the weather-vane type, and a suet lack. The window shelf feeder has given us the most entertainment, as it is on a south living-room window under a porch and is under watch at all times. Cracked nuts, meat scraps, crumbs and various kinds of seeds are kept in the feeders. During the unusually severe weather January 22 to February 22, 1936, our window shelf visitors included Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Chickadees, White-breasted Nut- hatches, and a few Slate-colored Juncos. A Red-bellied Woodpecker which came to the weather-vane feeder would not come to the window, and a Flicker which we saw several times in the yard would not come to either place, but no doubt the latter gleaned many nuts from those carried away and hidden in the trees by the nuthatches. Tree Sparrows and a lone Starling were seen eating with the stock in the cattle-yard.- — MRS. F. J. PIERCE, Winthrop, Iowa. Bird-banding Notes. — Banding work at 1" airfield duiing the fall of 1935 was very interesting, as the birds were very plentiful. I banded only G White-throated Sparrows in the fall of 1934, but in 1935 I banded 161. I used the same traps and placed food in the same places, and believe that the factor of weather made the difference. We had a White-throat repeating in the traps through the winter of 1935- 1930, which is the first winter record I have had for this bird. I saw Mourn- ing Doves in December, 1935, and in January, 1936, and on January 7, I saw a flock of 7 Bluebirds.— MALCOLM McDGNALD, Fairfield, Iowa. W'airbler* at De.i Moinea in the Fall of 1935. — The article on war- blers by the Ames trio (Hendrickson, Ferrier, Phillips: Iowa Bird Life, V, pp. 45-46) was of great interest to me. For years I have been keeping records of the spring and fall migrations of these elusive little birds* The warblers seemed unusually scarce about Des Moines dur- ing the autumn of 1935, and a number of Audubon members reported they had seen none* However, on September 19 and 20, quite a num- ber twittered in my garden and seemed intent upon feeding among bush and tree — an enjoyable respite on their southward flight. I saw the following species: Black and White, quite a few; Tennessee, 4; Nashville. 12; Yellow, many; Magnolia, 3; Black-throated Blue, *2, males; Myrtle, common during September; Blackburnian, one pair; Chestnut-sided, 4; Pine, several; Connecticut, 3; Northern Yellow- throat, common all summer; Wilson's, 6; Canada, 3; Redstart, G, The Black-throated Green had been seen earlier in the month. On the peak day in the fall of 1934, among others I had a flock of Nashville, some Pine, three pairs of Blackburnian, and several Black and White War- blers at the low bird pool at intervals all day.— MRS. TONI R. WEN- DELBURG, Des Moines, Icwa, io NECROLOGY Emil Danton Naurrtan, well known for his studies and writing of birds of southeastern Iowa, passed away at his home at Sigourney. Iowa, December 15, 1935. He lacked four days of being -1 years _ of age. He ha v We trust that our members will send in their interesting bird records during the coming year. Iowa is a large state anti our members are widely scattered over its surface. We want to hear of the activities of our members and of the unusual birds that are being seen in var- ious parts of the state. In this way we can keep in closer touch with one another. Let us hear from you regularly. In order that we may have as many members as possible represented, we ask that you keep your articles brief without omitting important facts or details. The migration record of the Dubuque Bird Club in this issue is a valuable list and offers a basis for comparison with what others have seen elsewhere. We shall welcome similar lists from other parts of the state. ' r Invite your friends to join us. We are always ready to cooper- ate by sending sample copies of ‘Iowa Bird Life' to anyone within Iowa who is interested in birds. Help us to expand our good work! MISS KATE LaiVlAR, See'y.-Treas. 1231 30th St., Dos Moines, la. THE OOLOG1ST is the only publication on the American Continent devoted to those who are interested in cot- lectin g. i> reserving, and study- ing birds’ eggs. Fifty cents per year. THE OOLOCIST La con Illinois 16 IOWA BIRD LIFE — VI, 1936 THE ANNUAL CONVENTION — FAIRFIELD, MAY 8-9 Our fourteenth annual meeting will be held at Fairfield, Friday and Saturday, May 8 and 9, Although it is too early to give details of the meeting when this issue of ‘Iowa Bird Life 1 is made up for the printer (in February), we can assure you that it will be an important gathering and will be well worth every member's time and the trip to Fairfield. Our first Fairfield meeting, held in 1933, was one of the best meetings in the history of our organization. Those who attended in 1933 will not miss the 1936 event, and for those members who did not attend we give a hearty endorsement of the Fairfield Bird Club’s hospitality and earnestly urge them to come this year. The events of Friday will include the usual program of interesting papers and discussions and the evening banquet. The field trip, to the best birding grounds around Fairfield, will occupy Saturday forenoon. A few titles on the program are ready for announcement. Mrs. Toni Wendelburg will present “Some Studies in Bird Behavior." Miss Olivia McCabe will give a talk. Mrs. MacMartin will show a series of colored moving pictures on “Birds and Flowers." Mrs, Henry Frankel, Chair- man of State Conservation Commission, will talk on conservation in ^ Iowa. It is also fairly certain that Logan Bennett, Thomas Scott and Paul L, Errington, all of Iowa State College, will give talks on their wildlife work. Our conventions would hardly have the proper atmos- phere without a bird talk by Walter Rosene, who has appeared on the program of nearly every meeting. We feel confident that he will en- tertain us this year, as usual. There is still time open, and we urge those who can to appear on our program. Send title, time required for reading paper, and other details to Dr George Hendrickson, at Iowa State College, at once. We shall be very glad to give you a place. Complete announcements will be mailed to each member at a later date. Meanwhile, we suggest that you keep this important event in mind and make plans to be in Fairfield on May 8 and 9. HOTEL LEGGETT FAIRFIELD, IOWA Official Headquarters for IOWA ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION CONTENTION .May 8 and !) We Welcome You To Our City GRISSOM’S COFFEE SHOP NEXT DOOR