ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETY 37 



and hang its prey in the small fork of the sapling or bush. 1 have fre- 

 quently found the prey of these birds hanging as I have above mentioned. 

 My observations were made about the last of February and the first of 

 March in the corn field when hauling out corn fodder." 



Olney : Mr. Robert Ridgway sends the following winter notes from 

 Olney: The winter of 1920-21 has been remarkable for its unusual mild- 

 ness. While December was not notably warmer than the average (only 

 2° above the normal of 33.7° for thirty-one years), only two Januaries and 

 two Februaries in the thirty-two years during which records of the weather 

 have been kept here were warmer than these months in 1921 ; the average 

 mean temperature for January being 40.7° in 1890, 37.6° in 1907, and 37.5° 

 in 1921, the average for the thirty-two years being 31.3°; while that of 

 February was 41.3° in 1890, 39.8°'in 1892, and 39.4° in 1921, the thirty- 

 two years average being 31.8°. 



Compared with the winter of 1917-18, which was much the coldest on 

 record, the average mean for December being 22.4°, that for January 13.2°, 

 and for February 31.3°, the difference in bird life was very slight indeed, 

 the only noteworthy features being the abundance of the White-crowned 

 Sparrow, and the constant presence of small numbers of the Crow, Black- 

 bird (Bronzed Crackle) and Robin. 



Grass on lawns and pastures has been visibly green all winter, and on 

 February 16th, I gathered , out-of-doors, flowers of the Forsythia, Yellow 

 Jessamin, Japanese Witch-Hazel, and English (Sweet) Violet, some trees 

 of the red and silver Maples being in bloom at the same time. Now 

 (March 8) the Forsythia (F. Suspensa) is in full bloom, Jonquils and 

 Fragrant Honeysuckle are in flower, and the flowers of the Red and Silver 

 Maples and Common Elm are dropping. A flock of about thirty Canada 

 Geese flew over, going northward, on February 4th. Hylas were piping 

 on February 5th, and on the 13th Doves were cooing, Robins, Bluebirds, 

 Cardinals, and Meadowlarks were singing and Flickers uttering their 

 mating calls. 



While Crow Blackbirds have been present in small number all winter, 

 they did not arrive "in full force" until March 5th, on which date large 

 numbers of Red-Winged Blackbirds came, the males in full song. The 

 Blue Jay is unusually numerous, dozens infesting our grounds each day, 

 and between them, the Blackbirds, and English Sparrows, I have a difficult 

 problem before me, because these pests must be driven off or exterminated 

 before the nesting season commences. Our troubles in this line are mate- 

 rially increased by the uninvited presence on our grounds of eight Albino 

 Grey Squirrels (pure white, with pink eyes). I do not like to kill them, 

 yet they must be disposed of in some way or we shall have no increase in 

 the birds on our place. As a bird destroyer, the Gray Squirrel is near the 

 head of the list, for no nest is secure from his discovery, and this means 

 the devouring of eggs or young. (Last summer Mrs. Ridgway caught one 

 of these rascals "red-handed," while engaged in the destruction of a brood 

 of young catbirds) . 



The known history of these Albino Gray Squirrels may be of interest. 

 Several years ago a brood of young Gray Squirrels, all perfect albinos (it 

 is not known whether the parents were albinos or not) was discovered in 

 the woods near Claremont, a village about six miles east of Olney. They 



