1013 Eipriq, Some Hints of the Chicago Area. 237 



raining :m<l storming, and there was much water standing on 

 the ice and snow. At such times, and during high water in the 

 spring, Herring (bills \ Larua argentatus) sometimes follow thecour.se 

 of the then rather formidable Salt ('reek as far inland as this. Of 

 terns, I have so far seen but one Black Tern. It lingered for a 

 lew moments over a rather large slough on July 20, MHO. 



A rarity for this pari of the country was captured on November 

 11, 1911, in the shape of a Cackling Goose (Branta canadensis 

 minium). It mingled with the ducks of a farmer on the creek, 

 and, when these wended their way homeward in the evening, this 

 northern visitor came along and was caught by the farmer's sons. 

 1 secured it and kept it alive until April IS. I )uringthis memorably 

 cold winter, it preferred Standing on the snowdrifts in its yard to 

 Staying on the straw in its hut. It refused all food except chicken 

 feed of cracked corn, oats, etc. Later, when the flocks of geese 

 were flying to ami fro overhead this is evidently on the highway 

 of <, r oose migration — the little cackling member of the tribe would 

 signal from below, whereupon the flocks would often halt, break 

 ranks, apparently hold a consultation, and then pass on. Its 

 repertoire of notes — call notes and low chucklings — was quite 

 extensive; some of them were decidedly musical, reminding one 

 of the Redwing, Cowbird or Bobolink in late summer, others were 

 somewhat chicken-like. When in April that particular cracked 

 corn etc. could not, for a time, be bail, the little cackler refused the 

 choicest whole corn, or food from the kitchen and deliberately 

 starved to death. It proved a female; a large pellet of shot was 

 lodged againsl one of the wingbones, which explains the seeming 

 lack of shyness on the day of its capture. The length was 2lf 

 inches, wing 1 I inches, tarsus 2| inches. 



( lanada Geese (Branta canadensis canadensis) pass through here 

 from January 1!) (1912) to April 22 (1910). Last fall a Snow 

 Goose (sp. ?) was taken out of a flock of 26 in a nearby slough. 



In the above mentioned piece of timber the Black-crowned Night 

 Herons (Nycticorax nycticorax namus) have a nesting colony of 

 about thirty pairs. The nests are from thirty to fifty feet up in 

 ash and oak tree. 



On May 10, 1910, while walking —or rather stumbling — 

 through a slough, I took a Wilson's Phalarope {Steganopus tricolor). 



