Need Binoculars 
for Bird-Watching? 
Whether for yourself — 
or a nature-loving friend 
Our field glasses are equal in performance and durability to the 
finest models anywhere. They’re produced by Hertel and Reuss, of 
Kassel, Germany, a leading designer and maker of quality precision 
instruments. Yet, they cost less than half as much as most others. 
They have been sold by the Illinois Audubon Society for more than 
a decade, and this income supports all |.A.S. conservation projects. 
NEW LOW PRICES 
7 x 35 / Lightweight (17'2 oz.) $60 including tax & postage 
8 x 40 / Lightweight (18 oz.) $73 including tax & postage 
Write for descriptive circular or order from: 
JOHN ROHLEDER, 1141 Deil Rd., Northbrook, {Il. 60062 
ALPHA PETERSON, 5301 Carpenter St., Downers Grove, Ill. 60515 
Rose-breasted grosbeak — Northfield. Large flight. September 5. J. Sanders. 
Evening grosbeak — Chicago. Seven birds. September 11. J. Sanders. 
Comment: Probably the discovery of the LeConte’s sparrow breeding 
in Chicago is the most important of the observations. The Mississippi kites 
have been having a population explosion, but we were quite surprised 
to see them this far north. All field marks were carefully checked. In my 
home area in Arkansas, these kites are now quite common whereas they 
were extremely rare when I was a child. Bedford Brown. 
Comment: Kim Eckert and I saw a bird fitting the description of a 
gull-billed tern at Waukegan on August 13. We saw the bird in flight for 
about 10 minutes. During this time we noticed the bird’s unusual feeding 
habits amid the Common terns that were present. The bird that we think 
may have been a Gull-billed tern never dived but would drop to the sur- 
face of the water picking up what were probably insects from the surface 
of Lake Michigan. All the other terns were diving for fish. The bird was 
about the size of the others except it had broader wings. It flew — like a 
gull — with shallow wing strokes not cutting deeply and sharply like a 
Common or Forster’s tern. The bill was dark and heavy. Immature terns 
present had dark bills but were much smaller than this bird. The cap 
was entirely dark from the head to the bill. Both Eckert and I have seen 
this specie in Texas and Florida and feel sure of the observation. I can 
recall two recent unpublished records of this species in the Chicago area. 
Stan Hedeen and I saw a gull-billed tern at Wilmette in 1961 and the year 
before, Harold Fetter had one at Lake Calumet. Both sightings were made 
in August. Old accounts (Cory’s and others) note that this bird is a very 
rare summer visitor to Lake Michigan. Robert P. Russell, Jr. 
