An Unintentional Bird Preserve 459 



viburnum, forsythiu, barberry, Japanese quince, and many 

 others bloom at their best and waft their fragrance through 

 the air; when the buck-eye and catalpa illuminate the foliage 

 with their exquisite candelabra of white and vie for first 

 place in the race of beauty with double-flowering cherries 

 and crab-apples, with the lovely pink of the red bud or Judas 

 tree flaming up in between, it is certainly an aspect of fairy- 

 like beauty. 



Then also the birds are at their best. For the selfsame 

 fence that has proved the salvation of the trees and bushes 

 in the fairy garden, has likewise kept out men and boys with 

 guns, and the house cat is also practically unknown. This gives 

 the birds the privacy and security, which they cherish so 

 much ; furthermore, the many fruiting shrtibs and trees sup- 

 ply all necessary food for those that care to stay. While the 

 number of migrants, though large enough, is not as large 

 as it would be if the Desplaines River, with its wooded banks 

 and its south and north course were not so near, the number 

 of nesting birds is abnormally large. A census of them 

 made June 3d had the following results : Six Bluebirds, 8 

 Robins, 18 Brown Thrashers, 8 Catbirds, 11 Field Sparrows, 

 2 Song Sparrows, 4 English Sparrows, 1 Goldfinch, 4 Cow- 

 birds, 5 Baltimore Orioles, 3 Meadowlarks, 4 Bobolinks (near 

 the north fence, where large pastures adjoin), 1 Nighthawk, 

 10 Flickers, 1 Red-headed Woodpecker, 6 Blue Jays, 1 Crow, 

 5 Wood Pewees, 1 Red-eyed Vireo, 4 Chimney Swifts, 6 

 Mourning Doves, and 1 Pheasant (probably Mongolian), a 

 total of 108 pairs. While in some cases the same bird may 

 have been counted twice, or in others, as in the Doves, both 

 birds of a pair counted, yet I feel convinced that the result 

 is rather below the truth than above. Undoubtedly there are 

 more Redheads, Vireo, Crows and Blue Jays nesting than 

 we counted; probably also more Goldfinches, and I think In- 

 digo Buntings, Cuckoos and Cedar Waxwings have added 

 themselves later to the list. Besides, we saw a Willow 

 Thrush, an Olive-sided Flycatcher and a Woodcock, which 

 did not nest there, as likely also as not the Nighthawk and the 

 Pheasant. On the morning in question, we also did not see 



