ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETY 41 



fact that he wasted no room in storing the crowns or caps which 

 would have little food value but brought only the nut part, there 

 being but one cap in one house and four in the other. The en- 

 closed picture show how completely he had filled the houses and 

 with what skill and cunning he had sealed them. We looked in 

 vain for him to repeat his store gathering in two new houses 

 placed in the trellis but he has already gone south. 



Port Byron 



Another interesting report from the Mississippi region in the 

 vicinity of Port Byron is sent in by Mr. J. J. Schafer. Mr. 

 Schaf er writes : 



With the exception of one bad storm on July 9th, the weather 

 was very favorable for the breeding birds in this vicinity during 

 June and July. Traill's Flycatcher and the Yellow-breasted 

 Chat again failed to come, and only one Bell's Vireo was heard 

 singing on May 27th. Killdeers were here all spring and sum- 

 mer but we never found any nests. Mourning Doves were com- 

 mon ; three pairs nested in our garden, and two or three pairs 

 in the orchard. One pair in the garden laid three sets of eggs, 

 and were successful in raising several young. One nest in the 

 orchard for some time contained one young and one egg and 

 when the young was about half-grown, the remaining egg 

 hatched. 



Most of the early Bob-white nests were destroyed by mowers. 

 One nest was found in the grass beside a fence post, but for 

 some reason was abandoned. One nest with 16 eggs was found 

 in the hay field after the mower had passed over it, but it prob- 

 ably was already abandoned, as the eggs were discolored by 

 rain. They always have better success with their second nests. 

 I noticed several large coveys during August and September, 

 most of them being young birds. 



In the spring a pair of Sparrow Hawks took possession of a 

 Flicker house, but we took it down and scared them away; we 

 did not want them here during the breeding season because they 

 kill nestlings and other small birds. 



A pair of Crested Flycatchers built a nest in an old willow 

 limb which had been set up besides a fence post, but they soon 

 disappeared, and some time thereafter I found where a cat had 

 eaten one of them, nothing being left but the wings and some 

 feathers. 



A pair of Yellow Warblers — the first ones since 1917, built 

 a nest in a peach tree in our garden and were successful in 

 raising a brood of young; a pair of Cedar Waxings raised a 

 brood of three young in a crab tree in front of the house. 



Dickcissels were common this year. There were about six 

 pairs in a 13 acre field of clover and timothy $ but all of their 

 nests were destroyed by the mower. Three nests were found 



