4 THE LAU DU BOWE BU LL Leet 
Crossbills in Rock Island County 
By A. LANG BAILY 
RECENTLY AN AREA of conifer plantings north of Port Byron, Illinois was 
visited by the Tri-City Bird Club. On November 4, the trees were searched 
for possible Canadian zone birds. A band of eight Pine Siskins and two 
groups of Red-breasted Nuthatches were discovered. Suddenly, with much 
chattering, a fiock of five White-winged Crossbills dropped into the top of 
a Norway spruce and began feeding on the cones. Because of the exceeding 
rarity of this species in the Davenport-Rock Island area, the bird club was 
quickly mobilized and the evergreens were observed for the ensuing three 
weeks. 
On November 7, five birds were observed, two males and three females, 
while on November 14, a lone female was present. Suspecting that an ad- 
ditional feeding territory was being used, Charles Mueller visited a nearby 
jack pine planting on November 16, finding 16 birds. A visit to the area 
on November 20 produced only one pair of White-winged Crossbills; how- 
ever, six Red Crossbills were gleefully recorded. 
This sudden appearance of the additional crossbill species confirmed the 
theory that an invasion was commencing. Accordingly, a salt block was set 
out the following day in an attempt to “hold” the birds as long as possible. 
On that day 14 Red and 16 White-winged Crossbills were observed. 
Excellent opportunity was afforded to study the two species in compari- 
son. Though similar in behavior, certain differences were noteworthy. The 
Red Crossbills proved to be much wilder than the White-wings, the latter 
permitting approach of a foot or less, particularly when feeding on the 
ground. The definite difference in quality of call notes soon became ap- 
parent, as did the segregation of species when in flight. If the birds remain, 
it is hoped that a thorough compilation of observations can be obtained. 
Participants in the preceding observations have been Charles Broley, 
Elton Fawks, Jeanette Graham, Charles Mueller, Mr. & Mrs. Peter Peter- 
sen, Sr., and John Warren. 
Davenport Public Museum, 704 Brady St., Davenport, Iowa 
Ed. Note: The Davenport Public Museum reports that it recently received 
a specimen of another bird rare to this area, an adult male Snowy Owl, 
shot on Geneva Island, Muscatine County, Iowa, on November 21, 1954. 
This is just across the Mississippi River from Rock Island County, I[llinois. 
Apparently Illinois has been favored by an “invasion” of White-winged 
Crossbills this winter, as the species has also been reported from the Morton 
Arboretum and from Jacksonville. Space limitations prevent us from print- 
ing all of these accounts in this issue. 
ft a FI 
Binocular Specials 
The most popular binocular we have been getting for Audubon members 
is a 7 x 35 of German make, the Hertel & Reuss. For those who wear glasses 
it has the important advantage of not requiring special eye caps. With it 
you see the same wide field of view that you get from other binoculars 
equipped with shallow eye caps. Also it is somewhat lighter and less bulky. 
