62 BIRDS OF SWOPE PARK 



Most readers will be surprised at the results of the cen- 

 sus. I have asked several people to guess which bird was the 

 most numerous in the Park during the summer. Each gave a 

 different answer, some guessing the Robin, some the Mourn- 

 ing Dove, some the Blue Jay but none guessing the Indigo 

 Bunting. In nearly every case the "guess" was some bird 

 more frequently seen about the home or in the more frequented 

 parts of the Park. Previous to the census, my own guess 

 would have been of this character. 



The Robin, the Thrasher, the Dove and the Towhee are 

 most conspicuous and numerous in the regions most frequented 

 but away out in the Park over the dry hilltops and slopes cov- 

 ered with a scraggy growth of pots oak, fragrant sumach and 

 other shrubbery trees and bushes and tangled vines, the In- 

 digo Bunting finds both the sunshine and the shelter that seems 

 to appeal to his bird-sense. 



In the regions of heavier timber along the valley of the 

 Blue River and of the tributary streams, where broken limbs 

 and dead stubs and drift rubbish accumulate, there the Chicka- 

 dees and the Tufted Titmice find their ideals of nesting places 

 and of food. Since both of these types of territory are still 

 quite extensive in the Park we find the Indigo Bunting, the 

 Tufted Titmouse and the Chickadee take the lead in point of 

 numbers for the summer birds of the Park. 



A further study of the list will show some interesting 

 comparisons. For instance, in the Park during the summer 

 there are more Parula Warblers than Robins; more Worm- 



