^°^'l9l0^"] Hess, Breeding Birds of Central Illinois. 23 



May 5, 1900. The nest was G5 feet up in an almost inaccessible position 

 in an oak and contained three eggs. One captured and others seen have 

 the pure white plumage with brown collar. 



15. Falco sparverius, Sparrow Hawk. — Very common breeder, 

 sometimes a resident. Nests in the timber and on the farms where it 

 sometimes resorts to granaries and outbuildings. Is known here as a great 

 enemy of the grasshoppers. May be seen perched upon telephone poles 

 along our country roads. My earliest nesting record is 5 eggs taken May 2, 

 1905; latest, 5 eggs, May 27, 1900. First heard March 16 to 20. 



16. Aluco practincola. Barn Owl. — Rare resident. My onlj^ record 

 is a set of 5 eggs taken from an old ice-house in tlie village May 29, 1908. 

 This year Mr. Guy Day found a nest of young in a hollow tree of Salt Fork 

 timber. Date, May 20, 1909. 



17. Asio wilsonianus. Long-kared Owl. — Rare resident. Have 

 found this owl nesting only at Lynn Grove where I took the first set of 5 

 eggs from an old Crow nest April 23, 1901. April 18, 1905, I took a second 

 set of 5 eggs in much the same situation. 



18. Strix varia. Barred Owl. — A not common nor rare resident but 

 I was unable to find tlnis owl nesting until April 26, 1908, when I took a set 

 of 3 eggs from a hollow tree in Lynn Grove. This was undoubtedly a 

 second set of the year, the first, probably an outside nest, destroyed by 

 Crows wliich are abundant in this grove. On May 17, 1906, I captured 

 a young of the year in the village. 



19. Otus asio. Screech Owl. — Abundant resident. Nests in timber, 

 old apple orchards on the farms and in the maple stubs of the village. 

 For three seasons a pair has made their home in an old elm stub of my 

 residence yard. Do not nest so early in my radius as tliey seem to from 

 publislied records from other localities. 



Typical sets consist of 5 eggs although I have taken two sets of 6. 

 Earliest set of fresh eggs taken was a set of 5 on April 8, 1898. Latest 

 date of fresh eggs was a set of 5 taken May 10, 1900. I find the brown 

 phase only slightly in preponderance. Of 29 mated pairs noted during 

 three seasons, 18 pairs were of opposite colorings, while seven pairs were 

 of the brown phase and four pairs of the gray. A second set is very com- 

 monly deposited in the same nesting cavity, when the first is taken, with 

 an average of thirty days intervening. 



20. Coccyzus americanus. Yellow-billed Cuokoo. — Common sum- 

 mer resident. Entirely replaces cry thro phthalmus in this locality. This 

 bird is a late breeder and inhabits woods, fields, and towns alike. Arrives 

 May 7 to May 20. Earliest nesting, 3 eggs June 15, 1899. A remarkably 

 late nest was located in a box elder of my residence yard in the village 

 September 5, 1898. It was discovered when the leaves began to thin. 

 The bird was setting on four incubated eggs but deserted them when the 

 limbs became bare. 



21. Ceryle alcyon. Belted Kingfisher. — Common summer resident, 

 arriving Marcli 24 to April 5. Found along all our smaller streams and 



