178 



THE OOLOGIST. 



Faunal Changes, DeKalb Co., 

 N". E. Indiana. 



Not many years ago, and in fact within 

 the memory of many of the older in- 

 habitants, this county was covered with one 

 grand forest. Only here and there at a dis- 

 tance of from one to three miles from each 

 other stood the settler's modest cabin with 

 its few acres of clearing. At this time the 

 Indian had gone, leaving only the marks 

 of his camp-fires and a few mounds and 

 stone implements scattered here and there. 

 Wolves and deer were not abundant. Only 

 the birds,— multitudes of the noblest birds 

 our section of the country ever produced, 

 alone remained to fill the mind of the 

 early settler with wonder and awe. Noble 

 birds, not that they excelled others in 

 sweetness of song or beauty of plumage, 

 but because there seems to be a certain 

 stateliness connected with them, partaking 

 of the grandeur of the vast forest that 

 sheltered their legions. But what great 

 changes a few years have wrought ! The 

 ' ' never-ending " woods has been converted 

 into a smiling open plain, well dotted with 

 beautiful groves. The land of this county 

 is mostly rolling but in some parts is 

 almost level. It has a few beautiful 

 streams and only one or two small lakes. 

 A few swamps still exist, although the 

 genuine Indiana Cat-swamp was by no 

 means uncommon in former times. As the 

 appearance of the land has changed so also 

 have its feathered inhabitants. Some 

 species have disappeared entirely, while 

 only a few individuals of others still linger 

 much after the manner of the Red Man 

 when driven from his native haunts. 

 Chief among our noble game birds may 

 be mentioned, 



Mekagris gaUopzw (Linn. ) — Wild Turkey. 

 We speak of it first because we regard it as 

 one of the most magnificent birds that 

 ever iuhabited our section. It seemed to 

 be a part of the wild forest and bush- 

 covered swamp where the old "gobbler" 

 strutted around with solemn pace, assuming 

 all the dignity of the most pompous old 

 monarch. They were common even 



abundant residents, to be met with in re- 

 tired places. They bred here extensively 

 and some of the settlers relate accounts of 

 finding their nests and setting the eggs 

 under the domestic hen ; the young turks 

 appearing in due time, only to wander off 

 into the woods as soon as old enough. 

 After the breeding season they congregated 

 in flocks of sometimes as high as a 

 hundred individuals, and their quit-quit 

 was not an uncommon sound to the pioneer 

 boy. But they are gone. The pot-hunter 

 was their untiring enemy. None have been 

 observed for several years. 



The species next claiming our attention is 

 Eetopistes migrat&rnis (Linn.) — Passenger 

 Pigeon. Perhaps this was the most 

 abundant migrant that ever passed over, or 

 visited us. And it was more than a 

 migrant, for it certainly bred here. We 

 can hardly credit the stories of the immense 

 numbers of these birds once found here. 

 They tell us of hundreds and thousands of 

 pigeons, flocks and clouds, yes, acres and 

 square miles of pigeons, that nearly obscur- 

 ed the sky and the sound of whose wings 

 was like a distant cataract! During the 

 season of migration they would pass over in 

 countless numbers for days. When they 

 selected a woods for a "roost " they would 

 cover the trees for acres, until they broke 

 them down with their own weignt. Light- 

 ing on a wheat field they would move 

 across it, the rear part of the flock flying 

 over the front, presenting the appearance 

 of a huge rolling mass of forest leaves 

 driven by the wind. But these accounts 

 can only be listened to by the wondering 

 young ornithologist ; he will never be per- 

 mitted to see anything of the kind here. 

 Will he be compelled to see such a diminish- 

 ing of the numbers of our common birds 

 in his short life-time? The last great flight 

 of these birds was about the year 1805. 

 The last flock noted by me. was in 1883. 

 I found a nest containing one egg of this 

 species in 1885. They are now, probably 

 extinct within the county. 



Branta Canadensis (Linn.) — Canada 

 Goose. Formerly an abundant migrant, 

 occasionally stopping near small lakes > 



