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Part 26

The Breeding Birds of Kansas · Richard F. Johnston — chapter 26 of 39 · ~1,072 words · public domain

Nests are placed in holes and niches in willow, red haw, elm, and a variety of stumps, about eight feet high (ranging from five to 20 feet), usually over water. A pair nested once in a gourd under the eave of a house in Winfield, Cowley County, and another pair in a tin cup on a shelf at a sawmill (Goss, ex Long, 1936).

=Parula Warbler=: Parula americana (Linnaeus).--This summer resident in eastern Kansas usually can be found in heavy woodland and flood-plain timber. Specimens taken in the breeding season and actual records of breeding come from Doniphan, Riley, Douglas, Montgomery, Labette, and Cherokee counties. Temporal occurrence is indicated in Table 17.

Breeding schedule.--Eggs are laid at least from mid-May to mid-June.

Number of eggs.--Clutch-size is about 4 eggs.

Nests are placed in debris in root tangles along stream banks, and, presumably, in pendant arboreal lichens.

=Yellow Warbler=: Dendroica petechia (Linnaeus).--This summer resident is common in the east, in woodland and riparian growths. D. p. aestiva (Gmelin) occupies eastern Kansas west at least to Barber County, but it is not known how far west representatives of this population breed. D. p. morcomi Coale breeds in western Kansas. D. p. sonorana Brewster, a name applicable to Yellow Warblers of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, has been considered a "straggler" (Long, 1940) or probable summer resident (Tordoff, 1956; Johnston, 1960) in southwestern Kansas, on the basis of one specimen taken on June 24, 1911, at a point two miles south of Wallace, Wallace County. This specimen, which is pale, was identified in 1935 as D. p. sonorana by H. C. Oberholser. Specimens taken subsequently from Cheyenne, Hamilton, and Morton counties in the breeding season can be referred adequately to D. p. morcomi. Probably the specimen of 1911 is a pale variant of D. p. morcomi within its normal distributional range. Breeding schedule.--Thirty-five records of breeding span the period May 11 to June 20 (Fig. 8); this probably is inadequate to show the extent of the season, and some egg-laying into July is likely to be found in the future. The modal date of egg-laying is May 25, and this is likely to be reliable.

Number of eggs.--Clutch-size is 4 eggs (4.2, 3-5; 29).

Nests are placed about nine feet high (ranging from five to 20 feet) in crotches of trees and shrubs including willow, elderberry, cottonwood, crabapple, plum, and coralberry.

=Prairie Warbler=: Dendroica discolor discolor (Vieillot).--This rare, local summer resident occurs in deciduous second-growth. The only breeding records are from Wyandotte and Johnson counties.

Breeding schedule.--Eggs are laid at least in June.

Number of eggs.--Clutch-size is about 4 eggs (Davie, 1898).

Nests are placed low, perhaps about four feet high, in a wide variety of small trees and shrubs.

=Louisiana Waterthrush=: Seiurus motacilla (Vieillot).--This uncommon to rare summer resident in eastern Kansas lives in woodland understory near streams. Nesting records come from Douglas, Miami, Linn, and Crawford counties. Wolfe (1961) reports he found a nest with young near Oberlin, Decatur County, on June 10, 1910, under an overhanging bank of Sappa Creek; Decatur County is some 250 miles west of the present western limit of the breeding range of the Louisiana Waterthrush, and western habitats are not favorable for their occurrence. Temporal characteristics of their distribution are indicated in Table 17.

Breeding schedule.--Eggs are laid in May and June.

Number of eggs.--Clutch-size is about 5 eggs (Davie, 1898).

Nests are placed in concealed places in banks or stumps always where it is wet.

TABLE 17.--OCCURRENCE IN TIME OF SUMMER RESIDENT WOOD WARBLERS IN KANSAS

=Kentucky Warbler=: Oporornis formosus (Wilson).--This is an uncommon summer resident in eastern Kansas, in deciduous forest and woodland. Specimens taken in the breeding season and actual records of nesting come from Riley, Doniphan, Douglas, Leavenworth, Linn, Montgomery, and Labette counties. Temporal occurrence is indicated in Table 17.

Breeding schedule.--Eggs are laid in May and June.

Number of eggs.--Clutch-size is 4 or 5 eggs.

Nests are placed near or on the ground, usually at the base of small shrubs or clumps of grass.

=Yellowthroat=: Geothlypis trichas (Linnaeus).--This summer resident in and near marshes is common in the east and is local and somewhat less common in the west. G. t. brachydactylus (Swainson) breeds east of stations in Clay, Greenwood, and Montgomery counties, G. t. occidentalis Brewster breeds west of stations in Decatur, Stafford, and Pratt counties, and the intervening area is occupied by warblers of intermediate morphologic characters. Temporal occurrence is indicated in Table 17.

Breeding schedule.--Nine records of breeding span the period May 11 to June 10; the modal date of egg-laying is June 1. The season is probably more extended in time than is indicated by the available records.

Number of eggs.--Clutch-size is 5 eggs (4.8, 4-5; 6).

Nests are placed in cattails and sedges one to two and one-half feet high.

=Yellow-breasted Chat=: Icteria virens (Linnaeus).--This summer resident is common in willow thickets and rank second-growth. I. v. virens (Linnaeus) breeds in eastern Kansas, from Nemaha County south, I. v. auricollis (Deppe) breeds in western Kansas, from Norton County south, and the intervening sector is occupied by chats of intermediate morphologic character. Temporal occurrence is indicated in Table 17.

Breeding schedule.--Twenty-six records of breeding span the period May 11 to July 20 (Fig. 8); the modal date for completion of clutches is June 5. Forty-two per cent of all eggs are laid in the period June 1 to 10.

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