ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETY 7 



"The statistics of the above tables give us concrete evidence of the great 

 abundance of the Dickcissel and emphasize the importance of the species 

 in the economic ornithology of the middle west. In 1909, out of 85 species 

 recorded for the whole state, the Dickcissel ranked fifth in the abundance 

 of individual birds, and in 1909, among the 177 species observed, it stands 

 eleventh. According to these data there are, during the summer months 

 in the 56,000 square miles of the state, more than a million Dickcissels 

 busily engaged in protecting valuable crops from the devastating grass- 

 hoppers. Surely such an army of useful workers is not to be ignored in 

 these strenuous times of conservation. 



The density of the Dickcissel population of southern Illinois is prac- 

 tically the same as it is in the central part of the state ; whereas in the 

 northern third of the state the number of Dickcissels per square mile is 

 very much less. This marked difference is correlated with the fact that 

 northern Illinois, about 42 degrees latitude is near the northern limit of the 

 summer range of this bird.'' 



One may w r ell linger over the statistics embodied in Table IV below. 

 This names the twelve commonest summer birds of Illinois and tells which 

 one is the commonest. From this we can compute the percent of the total 

 made up of English sparrows (31 percent) and that of blackbirds (35 

 percent.) 



The twelve Commonest Birds with the Numbers of Each Species Seen 

 Within the Fifty- Yard Strip On All Areas Included In The Survey of the 

 State— Summer,' 1909. 



TABLE IV. 

 Order of Total No. 



abundance. Common name. seen. 



1 English Sparrow 4239 



2 Bronzed Grackle 2455 



3 Cowbird 1845 



4 Meadowlark * 1434 



5 Mourning Dove 670 



6 Bobolink 631 



7 Red-winged Blackbird 573 



8 Flicker 419 



9 Robin 417 



10 Prairie Horned Lark 414 



11 Dickcissel 353 



12 Crow 287 



Total 13737 



Space permits of only a brief reference to Dr. Gross' report upon the 

 song of the Dickcissel. He says : 



"The Dickcissel begins singing as soon as it arrives in the spring, indeed, 

 the presence of the male newcomer is usually made known by his loud, 

 characteristic call. During the nesting season the song can be heard nearly 

 all times of the day, but it is by no means the first of the bird voices to be 

 heard in the morning. During the early morning hours, while waiting in 

 my blind for the coming of dawn, the weird call of the Pheasants, the 

 booming of the Prairie Hens, the cooing of the Mourning Doves, the 

 whistled Bob-White calls, and even the sweet songs of the Song and Vesper 

 Sparrow r s were heard long before the Dickcissel added his voice to the 

 chorus. As the dav wore on and the heat increased the first voices were 



