42 THE AUDUBON BULLETIN 



polls was discovered. A Robin or two and one lone Red-winged 

 Blackbird wintered in Thatcher's Woods last year. 



On Washington's Birthday, 1920, while in the woods I met 

 Mr. Kennicott, who reported twelve species and 110 individuals 

 observed in a walk through the Preserve, It gave me the great- 

 est pleasure to learn from him of the splendid campaign in 

 winter feeding of birds being carried out in all our preserves. 

 The protection the birds afford our trees and their destruction 

 of weed seed make the winter feeding well worth while. 



Late in May I spent a Sunday on the edge of the wood south 

 of Western Springs. Snatches of a Catbird's song attracted 

 my attention during the morning. Several times I stepped out- 

 side for closer observation, only to find the singer quiet or out 

 of sight. Suddenly it occurred to me that a Catbird could hard- 

 ly be responsible for the medley of notes I heard, and a little 

 later I caught sight of a beautiful Mockingbird. For two hours 

 more he circled about the house, accompanying his song with 

 all the aerial flights that make him so interesting, while his 

 vocal exhibition rivaled that of the Western Mockingbird. 



When I communicated the information to Dr. Eifrig of River 

 Forest I learned that he had been favored with a similar visita- 

 tion. Until the middle of June a pair of Mockingbirds were fre- 

 quently seen on Williams Street. No nesting record, however, 

 has been reported to me. 



Rock Island 



Local Secretary Nellie E. Peetz contributes the following 

 interesting field notes : 



In reading accounts of cases where Cowbirds deposited their 

 eggs in the nests of other birds, I do not seem to recall any case 

 where the victim chosen was not a smaller bird than the Cow- 

 bird, — usually one of the Warblers or a Sparrow. 



Early this Summer, however, same friends told of having 

 seen a Cardinal's nest containing two Cowbird eggs. I think 

 I was somewhat skeptical, but all doubt was dispelled a few 

 weeks later, when our own Cardinals (I call them our Cardinals 

 because for several years the same pair of birds have been al- 

 most daily visitors at our feeding shelf) appeared one day with 

 two young Cardinals and three Cowbirds ! 



The Mother Cardinal would have absolutely nothing to do 

 with the Cowbird youngsters, and would not even come near 

 the feeding shelf when they were there. The entire care, and 

 such care as those greedy young Cowbirds demanded, — de- 

 volved on Father Cardinal, and he certainly did his duty by 

 them. 



One evening we noticed an amusing incident. Father Cardi- 

 nal had not at any time fed the young Cardinals, but on this 

 particular evening he noticed one of the Cardinal babies chok- 

 ing on a morsel too large to be swallowed. Deeply concerned, 



