^"^^'iQio^'"] ^ES'^' Breeding Birds of Central Illinois. 19 



ONE HUNDRED BREEDING BIRDS OF AN ILLINOIS 

 TEN-IMILE RADIUS. 



BY ISAAC E. HESS. 



For two years past I have been gathering data on the breeding 

 birds of Illinois, and only one who has attempted such a task can 

 realize what a paucity of authentic records is obtainable from the 

 ornithological literatifre of the State. This apparent neglect of our 

 ornithologists in a State so resourceful, is responsible for my sub- 

 mitting the records of my twelve years' study of the birds making 

 their homes in a small portion of Champaign County in east central 

 Illinois. The records in this paper are all from a radius of ten 

 miles, with my home village of Philo as the center of operations. 



A short description of the geography of the locality will perhaps 

 add to the value of the records. The fortieth parallel pierces our 

 township latitudinally and divides the circle almost in halves. I 

 have found the fortieth parallel the natural boundary line of sev- 

 eral northern and southern species. Situated on the eastern edge of 

 the great Illinois plain, we have an altitude of 750 feet. 



Five miles to the east, Salt Fork Creek winds its way toward the 

 Wabash and the Salt Fork timber follows the stream all the way. 

 To the west two miles is the Embarras River (pronounced Ambraw), 

 here only a small stream with head waters in this county. Five 

 miles south an east branch joins the Embarras, forming at the 

 juncture our only swamp. This is also the beginning of Bowse's 

 Grove which follows the stream many miles southward. 



Four miles southeast is upland Lynn Grove — 160 acres of 

 natural timber, mainly walnut, elm and basswood — with no 

 forest nor stream connection with the other timber belts. The 

 region between is one vast sweep of rolling fields with scarcely an 

 acre not under cultivation. 



Groves and orchards abound about us and osage-orange hedges 

 are common along our highways. In our fields may always be 

 found such bird-life as the Bob-Avhite, Prairie Chicken, Ujiland 

 Plover, Killdeer, Meadowlark, Prairie Horned Lark, Dickcissel, 

 Grasshopper Sparrow, Indigo Bunting, Song, Field and Vesper 



