Seven small herons dropped down to the edge of the comclerv pond one 

 day and when startled by approaching' footste])s. they llew to the island and 

 l)erched on one of the willows. There they drew their lieads down into thier 

 slionlders and stood motionless. It has always been a matter of regret that those 

 herons were not positively identified. The green heron is a nnich more abun- 

 dant bird than is liis little blue cousin. Tt was a dark day when the birds were 

 seen, and as there was no way of reaching tlie island, distance forbade certain 

 identification. .\ fellow bird-lover, whose opinion carries treble the weight of 

 mine, was almost willing to say positively, "Little blue herrms." Probably they 

 were, but neither of us has dared to add the name of the bird to our Chicago 

 lists. 



I give herewith a list of the birds that probably nest every year in the 

 Chicago cemeteries. In many instances the nests have been found, and in the 

 other cases the birds have either been seen with young or have been found to 

 ])e resident during the breeding season : Robin, flicker, red-headed woodpecker, 

 chickadee, kingbird, phoebe, wood pewee, least fly catcher, bronzed grackle. rose- 

 breasted grosbeak, song sparrow, chipping sparrow, vesper sparrow, catbird, 

 brown thrasher, yellow warbler, redstart, red-eyed vireo. wood thrush, bluebird, 

 house wren, blue jay, indigo bird, Baltimore oriole, orchard oriole, scarlet tanager, 

 cedar-bird, cow-bird (parasite), yellow-billed cuckoo, black-l)illed cuckoo, mourn- 

 ing dove, crow, loggerhead shrike, towdiee, goldfinch, rul\v-throated luimming- 

 liird. oven bird. 



It is probable that some of the hawks and owls nest within the cemeteries' 

 limits, though I know of no recorded instances. The nests of the meadowlark 

 and bobolink both have been found on a patch of ground belonging to the Rose 

 Hill cemetery authorities and lying just outside the fence of the cemetery proper. 

 When it is taken into consideration that these burial-grounds lie within the 

 limits of a city of nearly two million inhabitants, there will come a realization 

 that there is much wild life in the very heart of civilization. 



Although the journey is generally made the other way. it may not be amiss 

 to go from the cemetery to the church. I have never found owls in the grave- 

 yard, but I have found them in the sanctuary. During the winter of 1895 sev- 

 eral owls, which I believe were of the long-eared species, took u]) a temporary 

 residence in the steeple of Unity Church, Walton Place and Dearborn Avenue, 

 Chicago. The church steeple for years had been the home of a flock of pigeons. 

 When the owls appeared the pigeons had to seek other quarters, though the 

 chances are that several members of the flock were sacrificed to ow lish appetites 

 before the moving was accomplished. One evening during a heavy snow storm 

 I saw two of the owls sitting in a tree on Delaware Place and blinking at a 

 strong electric light which stood not ten feet away. During the same winter 

 the screech owls visited the city in numbers. They were particularly common 



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