Part 2

Climate has a dominating influence on the vegetational elements sketched above. Mean annual rainfall is 20 inches or less in western sectors and increases to about 40 inches in the extreme eastern border areas. Mean monthly temperatures run from 25 deg.F. or 30 deg.F. in winter to 80 deg.F. or 90 deg.F. in summer. The northwestern edges of Caribbean Gulf warm air masses regularly reach northward only to the vicinity of Doniphan County, in northeastern Kansas, and extend southwestward into west-central Oklahoma; these wet frontal systems are usually dissipated along the line indicated by masses of arctic air, sometimes in spectacular fashion. The regular recurrence of warm gulf air is responsible for the characteristically high relative humidity in summer over eastern Kansas and it has an ameliorating effect on winter climate in this region. Almost immediately to the north in Nebraska and to the west in the high plains, summers are dryer and winters are notably more severe. The breeding distributions of some species of birds fairly closely approximate the distribution of these warm air masses; these examples are noted where appropriate below.

DISTRIBUTION OF BIRDS IN KANSAS

Birds breeding in Kansas are taxonomically, ecologically, and distributionally diverse. Such diversity is to be expected, in view of the mid-continental position of the State. Characteristics of insularity, owing to barriers to dispersal and movement, tend to be lacking in the makeup of the avifauna here. The State is not, of course, uniformly inhabited by all 176 species (Table 1) of breeding birds; most species vary in numbers from one place to another, and some are restricted to a fraction of the State. Variations in numbers and in absolute occurrence are chiefly a reflection of restriction or absence of certain plant formations, which is to say habitats; the analysis to follow is thus organized mainly around an examination of gross habitat-types and the birds found in them in Kansas.

TABLE 1.--THE BREEDING BIRDS OF KANSAS

Woodland Species

Elanoides forficatus N P. bicolor O Ictinia misisippiensis U Sitta carolinensis O Accipiter striatus U Troglodytes aedon N A. cooperii U Thryomanes bewickii N Buteo jamaicensis O Thryothorus ludovicianus N B. lineatus N Mimus polyglottos N B. platypterus N Dumetella carolinensis N Aquila chrysaetos O Toxostoma rufum N Falco sparverius U Turdus migratorius O Colinus virginianus N Hylocichla mustelina N Phasianus colchicus O Sialia sialis O Meleagris gallopavo N Bombycilla cedrorum N Philohela minor U Lanius ludovicianus O Zenaidura macroura N Sturnus vulgaris O Ectopistes migratorius N Vireo atricapillus N Conuropsis carolinensis U V. griseus N Coccyzus americanus N V. bellii N C. erythropthalmus N V. flavifrons N Otus asio U V. olivaceus N Bubo virginianus O V. gilvus N Strix varia U Mniotilta varia N Asio otus U Protonotaria citrea N Aegolius acadicus U Parula americana N Caprimulgus carolinensis N Dendroica aestiva N C. vociferus U D. discolor N Phalaenoptilus nuttallii N Seiurus motacilla N Chaetura pelagica U Oporornis formosus N Archilochus colubris N Icteria virens N Colaptes auratus N Wilsonia citrina N C. cafer N Setophaga ruticilla N Dryocopus pileatus O Passer domesticus O Centurus carolinus N Icterus spurius N Melanerpes erythrocephalus N I. galbula N Dendrocopos villosus O I. bullockii N D. pubescens O Quiscalus quiscula N Tyrannus tyrannus S Molothrus ater N T. vociferans S Piranga olivacea N Muscivora forficata S P. rubra N Myiarchus crinitus S Richmondena cardinalis S Sayornis phoebe S Pheucticus melanocephala S Empidonax virescens S P. ludoviciana S Contopus virens S Guiraca caerulea S Iridoprocne bicolor N Passerina ciris S Progne subis N P. cyanea S Cyanocitta cristata N P. amoena S Pica pica O Spinus pinus O Corvus brachyrhynchos O S. tristis O C. cryptoleucus O Loxia curvirostra O Parus atricapillus O Pipilo erythrophthalmus N P. carolinensis O Chondestes grammacus N Spizella passerina N

Limnic Species

Podilymbus podiceps U Butorides virescens U Phalacrocorax auritus U Florida caerulea U Ardea herodias U Casmerodius albus U Leucophoyx thula U Porzana carolina U Nycticorax nycticorax U Laterallus jamaicensis U Nyctanassa violacea U Gallinula chloropus U Ixobrychus exilis U Fulica americana U Botaurus lentiginosis U Charadrius alexandrinus U Plegadis chihi U Actitis macularia U Branta canadensis U Steganopus tricolor U Anas platyrhynchos U Sterna albifrons U A. acuta U Chlidonias niger U A. discors U Telmatodytes palustris N A. clypeata U Cistothorus platensis N Aix sponsa U Geothlypis trichas N Aythya americana U Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus N Oxyura jamaicensis U Agelaius phoeniceus N Rallus elegans U Rallus limicola U

Grassland Species Xeric Scrub Species

Buteo swainsonii N Callipepla squamata N B. regalis U Geococcyx californianus N Circus cyaneus O Salpinctes obsoletus N Tympanuchus cupido N T. pallidicinctus N Pedioecetes phasianellus N Unanalyzed Species Charadrius vociferus U Eupoda montana U Cathartes aura N Numenius americanus U Coragyps atratus N Bartramia longicauda U Falco peregrinus U Speotyto cunicularia U Columba livia O Asio flammeus U Tyto alba U Sayornis saya S Chordeiles minor U Eremophila alpestris O Megaceryle alcyon U Dolichonyx oryzivorus N Riparia riparia O Sturnella magna N Stelgidopteryx ruficollis N S. neglecta N Hirundo rustica O Spiza americana N Petrochelidon pyrrhonota U Calamospiza melanocorys N Ammodramus savannarum N Passerherbulus henslowii N Aimophila cassinii N Spizella pusilla N

The letter following each name refers to presumed zoogeographic derivation of the species, modified after Mayr (1946). N = North American evolutionary stock; S = South American stock; O = Eurasian stock; U = unanalyzed.

Avian Habitats in Kansas

Four major habitat-types can be seen in looking at the distribution of the breeding avifauna of Kansas. These are woodland, grassland, limnic, and xeric scrub plant formations. A little more than half the breeding birds of Kansas live in woodland habitats, about one-fifth in limnic habitats, about one-eighth in grassland habitats, and less than two per cent in scrub habitats; this leaves some 6.4 per cent of the breeding avifauna unanalyzed (Table 2).

TABLE 2.--ANALYSIS OF THE BREEDING AVIFAUNA OF KANSAS BY HABITAT-TYPES

========================+=============================== | Percentage of the Avifauna of +--------+-----------+---------- HABITAT-TYPE | | North | Stated | Kansas | America | Habitat ------------------------+--------+-----------+---------- Woodland: 101 species | 58 | 16.7 | 44.4 Limnic: 36 species | 21 | 6.0 | 38.5 Grassland: 23 species | 13 | 3.8 | 71.3 Xeric scrub: 3 species | 2 | 0.5 | 10.2 Unanalyzed: 11 species | 6 | 2.0 | 55.0 +--------+-----------+---------- Totals: 174 species | 100 | 29.0 | 43.2 ------------------------+--------+-----------+----------

Does not include the Canvasback (Aythya valisineria), the Forster Tern (Sterna forsteri), and the Black Tern (Chlidonias niger), all recently added to the breeding avifauna of Kansas.

Woodland Habitats

One hundred one species of Kansan birds are woodland species (tables 1 and 2). The analysis of Udvardy (1958) showed woodland birds to be the largest single avifaunal element in North America, with 38 per cent of North American birds relegated to it. It is likewise the largest element in the Kansan avifauna, representing 58 per cent of Kansan birds. Although woodland makes up a relatively small fraction of the vegetational complexes in Kansas, a large number of habitats exist in what woodland is present. An even larger number of possible woodland habitats is clearly missing, however, because the 101 Kansan species actually represent but 44 per cent of all woodland birds in North America, according to Udvardy's analysis. Broad-leaved, deciduous woodlands in Kansas are of restricted horizontal and vertical stratification. More complex deciduous forest associations and all coniferous forest associations are absent from the State.

Using Mayr's (1946) breakdown of geographical origin of the North American bird fauna, about 53 per cent of the woodland passerine birds in Kansas are of "North American" origin, 22 per cent are of "Eurasian" origin, and 14 per cent are of "South American" origin (Table 3). These figures for Kansas are commensurate with those found for other geographic districts at the same latitude in North America (Mayr, 1946:28). Other characteristics of woodland birds are summarized in tables 4 and 5.

TABLE 3.--ANALYSIS OF ECOLOGIC GROUPS OF BIRDS BY STATUS OF RESIDENCY AND AREA OF ORIGIN

Column headings: A: Migrant E: N. Amer. B: Resident F: S. Amer. C: Pt. Migr. G: Unanalyzed D: Old World

==========================+=====+=====+=====+=====+======+=====+===== | A | B | C | D | E | F | G --------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+-----+----- Woodland species, 101:58% | 60% | 29% | 11% | 22% | 53% | 14% | 11% Limnic species, 36:21% | 94% | 0 | 6% | 0 | 14% | 0 | 86% Grassland species, 23:13% | 61% | 26% | 13% | 9% | 56% | 3% | 30% Xeric Scrub species, 3:2% | 33% | 66% | 0 | 0 | 100% | 0 | 0 Unanalyzed species, 11:6% | 64% | 27% | 9% | 26% | 26% | 0 | 48% --------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+-----+-----

Limnic Habitats

Of Kansan birds, 36 species (20 per cent) prefer limnic habitats (Table 1). Udvardy found this group to represent 15 per cent of the North American avifauna. Kansas is not notably satisfactory for limnic species, and only 38 per cent of the total North American limnic avifauna is present in the State.

Thirty-one species of limnic birds belong to families that Mayr (1946) considered to be unanalyzable as to their geographic origin; of the five remaining species, all seem to be of North American origin. Other characteristics of limnic birds are summarized in tables 4 and 5.

Grassland Habitats

Twenty-three species of our total can be called grassland species (Table 1). The subtotal is less than one-fifth of the Kansan avifauna, but it represents 72 per cent of the grassland birds of North America; grassland habitats abound in Kansas. Only 5.3 per cent of all North American birds are grassland species (Udvardy, 1958).

About 56 per cent of these birds are of North American stocks, nine per cent of Eurasian stocks, and three per cent of South American stocks. The percentage of North American species is the greatest for any habitat group here considered. Other characteristics of grassland birds are summarized in tables 4 and 5.