BY THE WAYSIDE 
23 
ion of the bird effigies in these and other 
oca!ities in the state plainly indicates 
hat they are intended to represent birds 
it a number of distinct species. Al- 
hough most of these will probably al- 
.\a,\s resist all attempts at their certain 
dentificatiori, Wisconsin students have 
pod reason to believe that among the 
lumber there may be recognized the 
ogle or hawk, the wild goose, and pos- 
ibly the pigeon, swallow and kite. The 
ttitudes in which the various birds are 
lmwn are very interesting. A large 
uimber have wings extending out in a 
traight line from either side of the body, 
'he wings are widest where they unite 
f el dv and taper toward the ex- 
remity. On the beautiful lawn of the 
bate Hospital grounds, on the north 
bore of Lake Mcndota, at Madison, is an 
•.specially fine example of this class of 
ird effigy. This great mound is locally 
nown as the eagle,' ’ and was recently 
larked bv the Wisconsin Archeological 
'Ociety with a descriptive bronze tablet, 
t has the distinction of being the largest 
ird mound in Wisconsin and has a 
bug-spread of 624 feet. Its great body 
$ 121 feet in length. Its body is six 
eet high. It is shown as if flying to- 
ard the lake. Near it are two other 
ird effigies of similar shape and also of 
irge size. 
Some other bird mounds have curved 
bugs extending out at ecpial distances 
rom either side of the body. Others 
ave the wings bent at a short distance 
rom the body, forming a distinct slioul- 
or. A specimen of this type located 
ear Baraboo measured 240 feet between 
re wing tips. Its head and body were 
.> * 
0 feet in length. On one side of its 
head appeared a well defined beak, a fea¬ 
ture 1 ourid in a considerable number of 
bird mounds. Another specimen of this 
type formerly existing in the Honey 
Creek valley, in Sauk County, had a 
v ing spread of 360 feet. Another tvpe 
of bird effigy has long tapering wings 
which extend back at a short distance 
from and nearly parallel to the sides of 
the body. An example of this type, re¬ 
cently surveyed by the writer, is located 
in a pasture east of the golf club 
giounds, near what was formerly known 
as the Sugar Bush,” near Madison. 
Its wings are each about 100 feet in 
length. Its body and head are about 75 
feet long. The body is slightly ex¬ 
panded near the extremity forming a 
fan-shaped tail. Many bird mounds 
have this latter feature. Here and there 
in Wisconsin are found bird effigies hav¬ 
ing a divided or forked tail. Of this 
type an example is to be seen near Win- 
nequah, on the east shore of Lake Mo¬ 
nona, at Madison. 
In a group of mounds located near the 
shores of a pond, a mile or more north 
of Lake Wingra, at Madison, there oc¬ 
curs a bird effigy which shows the curi¬ 
ous feature of one wing slightly elevated 
and the other considerably depressed. 
The wings are 101 and 117 feet long re¬ 
spectively. Its body measures about 82 
feet. Single specimens of this form 
have been located in groups of mounds 
in one or two other localities in eastern 
Wisconsin. In several places in the 
state are bird mounds with short 
rounded heads and bodies, and short 
tapering wings extending out at right 
angles from the body. Three of these 
were located in a group at Oakwood, a 
i 
