Chicago Winter Birds 7 



the city. The Ruffed Grouse is fairly plentiful in the 

 Dunes. It breeds there and appears to be slowly in- 

 creasing. Since the heavy timber has been cut and 

 the country become more settled, the Great Horned 

 Owl has almost disappeared, but a few, perhaps a 

 dozen pairs, still linger in this region. They breed 

 very early, in late February or early March. Some 

 may still be found in the heavy timber along the Des 

 Plaines River. The Long-eared Owl also appears in 

 small numbers in the Dunes and a few breed there. 

 It is generally found in pine trees. The smallest owl 

 found here, the Saw-whet, was formerly not an un- 

 common resident, but appears now mostly as a winter 

 visitant, at times fairly common in the Dunes. In 

 years when the acorn crop is especially large, the 

 Red-headed Woodpeckers remain through the winter. 

 They are very plentiful in the Dunes and have been 

 found storing acorns in cracks in trees and under the 

 bark. The Northern Flicker, a common summer resi- 

 dent, winters in the Dunes in small numbers nearly 

 every year. Prior to the fall of 1920, there were but 

 four records of the Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker for 

 the Chicago area. During that fall, however, there 

 was an invasion of these birds from the north, and 

 some sixteen were reported, including a number from 

 the Dune region where they were found well into 

 December. In the pines in deep hollows in the Dunes, 

 Golden-crowned Kinglets generally may be found. 

 Kinglets are common migrants, arriving the last of 

 September, and a few spend the winter, leaving in 

 April. They are usually found in thick pines in win- 

 ter. A southern bird that is gradually extending its 

 range northward is the Tufted Titmouse. It is now 

 fairly common south and west of the city, but few 

 have been seen north. It probably breeds in the 

 Dune region. The Cardinal is another southern bird 



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