In the spring of 1893, Mr. C. B. Brown, of Chicago, Ill., collected a
nest of the wild pigeon containing two eggs at English Lake, Ind., and
secured both parent birds. Mr. Brown describes the nest as being placed
on the horizontal branch of a burr oak about ten feet from the trunk
and from forty to fifty feet from the ground. He did not preserve the
birds, but the eggs are still in his collection. The locality where
this nest was found was a short distance from where the Hazens found
their birds six years before.
Mr. John F. Ferry informs me that three pigeons were seen near the Des
Plaines River in Lake County, Ill., in September, 1893. One of these
was shot by Mr. F. C. Farwell.
In an article which appeared in the Chicago _Tribune_ Nov. 25, 1894,
entitled "Last of His Race," Mr. E. B. Clark related his experience in
observing a fine male wild pigeon in Lincoln Park, Chicago, Ill., in
April, 1893. I quote from the article: "He was perched on the limb of
a soft maple and was facing the rising sun. I have never seen in any
cabinet a more perfect specimen. The tree upon which he was resting
was at the southeast corner of the park. There were no trees between
him and the lake to break from his breast the fullness of the glory of
the rising sun. The pigeon allowed me to approach within twenty yards
of his resting place and I watched him through a powerful glass that
permitted as minute an examination as if he were in my hand. I was more
than astonished to find here, close to the pavements of a great city,
the representative of a race which always loved the wild woods, and,
which I thought had passed away from Illinois forever."
Mr. R. W. Stafford of Chicago, Ill., who has shot hundreds of pigeons
in former years within the present city limits of Chicago, informs me
that in the latter part of September, 1894, while shooting at Marengo,
Ill., he saw a flock of six flying swiftly over and apparently alight
in a small grove some distance off.
The above records will show that while in this section of the country
large flocks of Passenger Pigeons are a thing of the past, yet they are
still occasionally observed in small detachments or single birds.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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