14 2 Hees AUtD WD BiOeNG 3B +U sD Ee een 
figure. A marsh hawk? No, its wings were broad and round. Luckily for 
us, the tired bird settled to rest on a fence-post. We drove slowly past, 
studying carefully. An owl — but which one? Out came “The Birds of 
Eastern North America” — always on the seat between us — and the 
color plate gave the name — the short-eared owl! Confirmation came from 
the description: “Hunts in daytime across open fields.” 
One argument engaged us for some time. Had we seen a north-bound 
migration of horned larks (my idea!), or had the extreme cold, with ice- 
covered fields, driven the larks to the partly melted patches on the high- 
way for food and drink (my husband’s idea!)? Are there great numbers 
scattered over the fields unobserved by us at other times? 
In February, 1953, in sunny, zero weather, we again drove south from 
Sycamore. The week before we had seen a broad-winged and two larger 
hawks. This day was birdless until a small flock rose and whirled about a 
group of cattle in a feed lot. Looping flight, black tails, light underparts, 
marked them as horned larks, about fifty of them. We stopped to watch. 
Then came the coincidence. Across the fields from the west flew a large 
gray bird which settled near the larks on a fence-post. Yes, it was a short- 
eared owl! Dreadful thought! Does the short-eared owl like a meal of 
horned lark? Well — shameful confession — we once relished a dainty 
meal of quail or doves, ourselves! 
233 W. Hxuchange St., Sycamore, Illinois 
(Ed. Note: The prairie horned lark is probably the typical Illinois bird, 
for he loves open fields. As our forests are cut and our marshes drained 
and plowed, the lark increases in numbers and range. While larks migrate 
early, even in midwinter, it is likely that we see only one from a passing 
car where there are scores or hundreds.) 
nse fal 1a 
Book Reviews 
BIRDS OF WASHINGTON PARK, ALBANY, NEW YorRK, by Dayton Stoner and 
Lillian C. Stoner, 1952. New York State Museum, Bull. No. 344, 268 pp., 
$1.60, Albany, N.Y. 
City parks may be favorable spots for bird study due to their accessibility, 
their function as islands in concentrating passing migrants, and their per- 
manency, which can result in observations of historical value. The present 
study is chiefly based on spring observations from 1933-42 in a park of 90 
acres, which includes a six-acre lake and 65 acres of mowed lawns. It has 
fine old elms and silver maples, but the shrubbery is rather closely trimmed. 
Fifty-two photographs illustrate for the most part scenes in the park. 
Tables show relative frequency of the 50 commonest birds, earliest and 
latest spring records and nesting status, etc. Most of the space is devoted 
to an annotated list of 127 species and subspecies recorded from the park; 
this consists of a brief description of the bird, an account of its occurrence, 
