38 THE AUDUBON BULLETIN 



were brought to Olney, and eventually liberated in a small piece of woods 

 at the north edge of town. There they thrived and increased to such an 

 extent that they are now to be seen in all parts of the town, no less than 

 eight having made their way to our grounds, on the opposite (south) side 

 of Olney. The significant point about these Albino Squirrels is the fact 

 that they "breed true." All that I have seen are complete albinos. 



Returning to the subject of the Blue Jay, Crow Blackbird, and Eng- 

 lish Sparrow ; I often wonder why it is that these birds, liked by few and 

 persecuted by many, continue to increase in number, while birds beloved 

 by all who care for birds at all, either barely "hold their own" or decrease 

 in number. The Cardinal, for example, which was so numerous during 

 the winter of 1919-20 that we fed, daily, between twenty-five and thirty, 

 is represented on our place this year by less than half that number. The 

 decrease was first noticed during the nesting season of 1920. 



The presence throughout the winter, in large numbers, of a bird (the 

 White Crowned Sparrow) that usually spends the cold season farther 

 south, raises the question whether these birds could have possessed previ- 

 ous knowledge that the coming winter was to be a mild one. That some 

 wild creatures are able to foretell changes in the weather, at least, has 

 been proven to our satisfaction by a big Fox Squirrel whose "den" is in a 

 hole high off in the big elm tree near our house. When he descends from 

 his nest to the ground to feed, on friendly terms with the birds, he is in 

 full view from our dining room window, from which we daily observe him. 

 On several occasions he has been seen to gather mouthfuls of dead leaves 

 from the ground and ascend the tree to his nest, evidently knowing that 

 they would be needed to keep him warm, for invariably a "change" came 

 the next day. We therefore look upon him as a "weather prophet" to be 

 depended on. 



Port Byron: Mr. J. J. Schafer reports as follows: 



The coldest weather we had here this winter was on Dec. 28th, when 

 it was 12° below zero. The rest of the winter was mild, the ground being 

 bare most of the time. Last year the fall migration ended in December. 

 The last Blackbirds and Goldfinches were heard December 1st and the last 

 Meadowlark was seen December 7th. 



Birds seen on the Mississippi River this winter were the Herring Gull, 

 American Merganser, Red-Breasted Merganser and the American Golden- 

 eye. The Mergansers were not as numerous as last winter. On Jan. 12th 

 a flock of ducks was seen flying southeast ; they were probably Mergansers 

 or Golden-eyes. A friend of mine saw a pair of Mallards in a creek 

 between Port Byron and Cordova, about Feb. 7th. On Feb. 10th the first 

 flock of Pintails was seen flying north. Some people living on Rock River 

 Bottom, reported seeing a large flock of Canada Geese flying north about 

 Jan. 5th. 



A Sharp-Shinned Hawk was seen Jan. 5th and a Sparrow Hawk was 

 heard calling on Feb. 9th and 11th. A few Rough-Legged Hawks were 

 here all winter. A neighbor reported -seeing a very large hawk with a 

 white head (Bald Eagle) circling above a piece of timber in which he was 

 chopping wood, about Dec. 15th. Not many Bobwhites were seen. On 

 Dec. 9th, a covey of twelve came into the houseyard, and Dec. 16th, the 



