DoBeKe sAeUeDLU BOON” (B-UcLiL B-T IN 9 
deeper forest. Then, as if by contrast, came to our ears the sweet trilling 
notes of the song of the junco. I have heard him above the snow on a 
bush in Lincoln Park at home, and beside my feeding station before 
coming to partake, always a welcome addition to a morning out of doors. 
On we went from bird to bird until we were suddenly startled by an un- 
expected, oft-repeated, clear call. Could it be the Carolina wren?. We 
quickly crossed the open expanse of grassy park area to the brushy under- 
growth below Starved Rock, wren country, to be sure. My partner and I 
separated to be on either side of the particular brush heap from where 
the song had just ended. Good fortune was ours again; out hopped our 
Carolina wren. We were more than delighted with our morning experiences. 
Prairie horned larks, ring-necked pheasants, tree sparrows, all claimed their 
places. Bluebills were on the river. If only we knew just where to go to 
see those ducks without parking on a curve at the foot of a hill. 
One fellow traveler shared with us his appreciation of the beauty of 
the mist from the top of Starved Rock. Often I stopped to drink in the 
exquisiteness of the winter landscape, the soft blue sky, the red-brown of 
the oak leaves, the paler tans and grays of trees and grass. How much 
joy we could add to the day’s pleasure who listed the song and color of the 
feathered tribe. 
Chicago, Illinois. 
ft fT ft 
Wildlife of Elk Grove Preserve* 
By GORDON SAWYER PEARSALL, Naturalist 
ELK GROVE is also a paradise for birds and many interesting records were 
noted there. I think that crows are too numerous in Elk Grove, and I 
found a large number of smaller birds’ nests broken up by crows. This 
was particularly true of ground-nesting birds, including pheasants. I 
found 14 pheasant nests broken up by crows. The swampy ground north 
and northeast of the elk pasture was an especially good spot for woodland 
birds. It was in this area that two great blue herons made their nests 
and raised their families. It was in this same area that I found more 
ovenbirds nesting than I have ever seen in one area before. There I found 
scarlet tanagers very abundant, as were warblers during migrations. 
In the big cattail marsh west of the caretaker’s house various marsh 
birds nested. Probably more ducks would nest here if this marsh were not 
choked with cattails, sedges, rushes and sweet flag from about the middle 
of June on, so that there is no open water after June. Here I found two 
mallards nesting in April. Later they must have taken their young to 
more open water somewhere else. A bittern and two least bitterns raised 
*This article is composed of selections from “‘A Report on the Fauna and Flora of 
Elk Grove Preserve, Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Illinois,’’ submitted by 
Mr. Pearsall to the Commission. An earlier portion dealt with the mammals and 
described the location of the Preserve, while this deals with the birds of Elk Grove. 
Concluding selections will be given in the September Bulletin. , 
