THE AUDUBON BULLETIN 



SPRING 1917 



Published by the 



ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETY 



(For the protection of wild birds) 

 The Ozark Region of Illinois 



A friend whose work has always kept him in the. northern part of Illi- 

 nois was condoling with me over what seemed to him my ill luck in finding 

 employment in the extreme southern end of the State ; in Egypt, as he 

 expressed it. I told him that I was beyond Egypt. "Then in Ethopia," he 

 said. 



This incident illustrates the view of many who are strangers to that 

 extensive and interesting part of the State extending over several counties 

 and known as the Ozark region of Illinois. Perhaps a majority of the 

 people do not know that such a region exists. I recall two men who rank 

 high among the scientific people of the State who, after listening to an 

 illustrated talk on this locality, expressed surprise on learning that rock 

 outcrops at any point in these counties farthest south. 



Among those who have passed through but have not stopped, or those 

 whose sojourn has been in but one locality, the mental pictures are as 

 different as were those of the proverbial blind men who saw the elephant ; 

 so much depends upon the place of contact and the season of the year, for 

 the variety of natural features is great and the daily, weekly, and seasonal 

 changes of climate are more varied than in any part of the State, Chicago 

 not excepted. The picture may be one of swamps, mountains, floods, high 

 walled canons, railway tunnels, rich farm lands, sooty mining towns, rocky 

 hills, hardwood forests, cedar crowned hill tops, rushing torrents and cas- 

 cades, meandering streams, drought stricken fields, rain unceasing, perfect 

 autumn weather, fruit killing frosts of early April, or fruit laden orchards 

 in July, revealed in the order in which the interviews may be obtained. 

 Such is the medley of ideas, all depending upon when and where the ob- 

 server got his glimpse of this varied and somewhat neglected part of the 

 State, popularly supposed to be made up almost exclusively of monotonous 

 prairie varied occasionally by muddy streams, bordered with a fringe of 

 forests, with several counties of malarial swamps in the extreme south 

 end. 



Here, the climatic conditions and variety of geographic phenomena 

 contribute to a wonderful variety in forms of life. Here, in the two 

 southern tiers of counties of Illinois, the storms from the Gulf and the cy- 

 clones from the northwest, at times, exert their influence at once, then 

 alternately, with sudden and unexpected changes that baffle the weather 

 man to explain, much less to predict. Here grow the cypress, the magno- 

 lia, the mistletoe, and the cane brakes of the farther south by the side of 

 the cedar, the hardy oak, and almost every other tree and shrub that grows 

 near the northern border of the State. Here, the gooseberry thrives in the 

 shade of the persimmon, the violet occasionally blooms in January, and 



