22 



THE AUDUBON BULLETIN 



Bird Notes From Elgin 



The Evening Grosbeak is an occasional visitor in this vicin- 

 ity. Several years ago I discovered five feeding upon the ground 

 among some underbrush near a wild black cherry tree in Lord's 

 Park. I discovered them through the repeated, faint, cracking 



noise which attracted 

 my attention as I ap- 

 proached their feed- 

 ing ground. I saw 

 they were busily en- 

 gaged picking some- 

 thing from the 

 ground and crack- 

 ing it with their 

 stout bills. This 

 proved later to be the 

 seeds of the black 

 cherry which they 

 broke to get the ker- 

 nels they contained. 



InMay, 192 0, 

 when my cherry 

 trees were in bloom, 

 I found a large num- 

 ber of the blossoms 

 on the ground. Upon 

 close examination I 

 discovered that they 

 had been nipped from 

 the twigs. Numerous 

 marks, apparently 

 from the bill of some 

 bird were found upon 

 the calyx and in some 

 cases the calyx had 

 been removed entire- 

 ly. I had noticed Ori- 

 oles and Warblers, 

 birds with slender 

 bills probing the blos- 

 soms, apparently for 

 nectar and insects 

 and therefore con- 

 cluded that birds with a stout bill were the offenders. Later I 

 heard a Rose-breasted Grosbeak singing in the cherry trees. Im- 

 mediately my suspicion was directed toward him. Upon coming 

 closer I discovered both male and female Grosbeaks picking the 

 cherry blossoms; eating the calyx and letting the sepals and 

 petals fall to the ground. 



AFTER A WATER COLOR BY C. F. GRONEMANN 



