ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETY 23 



which might easily be mistaken for that of their first cousin, the 

 Black-capped Chickadee. Their song is a clear whistle, and 

 though not easy to describe, I will know it every time I hear it. 

 The songs of all birds should be heard to be learned ; a descrip- 

 tion, at best, merely hints of the thing and does not tell much. 

 A photograph hints of the beauties of a landscape or a group of 

 flowers but they must be seen to get the true value and beauty of 

 the original. 



I was pleased to note some large, black water birds on an 

 island in the Illinois River, and later identified them as Double- 

 crested Cormorants. About twenty of them were perching in a 

 bare tree overhanging the water, and now and then one would 

 leave and fly with long neck outstretched to some point down the 

 river and one or two others would come and take his place in 

 the tree. Several of them were usually to be seen swimming 

 and diving expertly, although when taking to the air from the 

 water they did so with difficulty and caused a great splash. 



That afternoon in the park was the most wonderful I have 

 ever spent. Birds were to be found everywhere. A fragrant 

 wild crab-apple tree in full bloom was the hiding place of a 

 Field Sparrow and a Cottontail Rabbit. A shady canyon was 

 the home of Bank Swallows and a Wood Thrush, and a more 

 picturesque spot can hardly be imagined, especially when I add 

 that a falls flowed over one end of the sandstone walls, which 

 were harmoniously tinted by the iron with which the water is 

 charged. Four or five Cardinals flew from one large tree to 

 another and presented a gorgeous spectacle. As we saw a new 

 bird we thought it was the crowning event of the day, but then 

 another would be seen and it seemed a little more rare and beau- 

 tiful than the last one. Rose-breasted Grosbeak was feeding in 

 the treetops and made a pleasure picture. Farther on a covey 

 of Quail ran in front of us, the only time I had ever seen this 

 one time common bird. Thus it went on until sundown. 



Then in the twilight we were attracted by a flash of crimson 

 in the top of a tall tree. Our field-glasses showed us that it was 

 a Scarlet Tanager, practicing the tactics of a Flycatcher. That 

 event proved to be the climax, and we left this bird heaven only 

 when the darkness shut out our view and with a promise to re- 

 turn at sun-up the next day. 



George Crook, Glencoe. 



Bird Census of Waterloo, Illinois 



One of the first things an observant person notices upon en- 

 tering Waterloo is the great number of bird houses which have 

 been built and put out to house the bird population of the town. 

 Thinking that it would be interesting as well as instructive to 

 take a bird census of the town, we formed a questionnaire and 

 sent a copy to every house in town. 



The task of circulating the questionnaires would have in- 



