6 Field Museum of Natural History 



noted in ditches and in cat-tails in a marsh in January 

 and February. In mild winters, Fox Sparrows stay 

 about brushy woods and fields. Mr. W. I. Lyon of 

 Waukegan had one about his feeding station from 

 November to late March, the winter of 1921-22. 



In woods and along their borders and in orchards, 

 the Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers feed on the larvae 

 of destructive insects and wood-boring beetles, thus 

 greatly helping the farmer in keeping these pests 

 under control. Another resident, the Chickadee, more 

 common in winter, is often found with the Downy. 

 It is a bright, active little bird, very tame and in- 

 quisitive, often coming within a few feet of a person. 

 The Hudsonian Chickadee, from the north, is a very 

 rare winter visitant, and there are but few records of 

 its capture here, the last being in 1906. The Brown 

 Creeper, a migrant arriving late in September, fre- 

 quently remains all winter, leaving the first part of 

 May. It works its way to the top of one tree and then 

 flying to the bottom of another, repeats the perform- 

 ance. The White-breasted Nuthatch is a fairly com- 

 mon winter resident and a rare breeder in this area, 

 and the Red-breasted is, in some years, a common mi- 

 grant from September to November, when a few will 

 winter. The latter bird is partial to pine trees and 

 sometimes the pines at Beach, Illinois, are fairly alive 

 with them during a heavy migration. Later, they 

 may be seen there in December and January. 



As mentioned before, the Dune region in northern 

 Indiana is especially attractive to winter birds, and 

 the following, while also found in other sections, are 

 most common in the Dunes. Two game birds are hold- 

 ing their own fairly well, the Bob-white and Ruffed 

 Grouse. There are four or five coveys of Bob-white 

 about the Dunes which, with protection, ought to in- 

 crease. A few coveys also may be found southwest of 



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