The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-08-11
A PARADISE FOR BIRDS.
Thousands of Songsters Unmolested at the
Rock Island Arsenal, in the Mississippi
Davenport Democrat.


Davenport Democrat.
A young lady in this city, who has been a
dlligent student in ernithology the past
three years. stated in conversation With the
writer last evening that the beautiful arsenal
domain of the United States the island of
Rock Island, is the birds paradise in the
Northwest. No gunshot is ever fired at
Them there. no cruel boys hunt them with
slings, arrows, blowpipes, rubber guns or
stones or destroy their nests. And the birds
and fowl appeared to have learned this, for
the lives and homes of the feathered tribes
have been thus protected on the island for
nearly fifteen years. The young lady, in
frequent drives on the island, has noted the
different varieties of birds she has seen there
during the spring and 50 far this summer, for
she always carries = book and pencil for the
purpose, and hers are some of the names:
Crested pigeon, blue bird, robin, song sparrow,
butterball, blackbird, shoveler, loon, brown
creepsr white-rumped shrike, green heron,
rusty grac,,le bittern, house wren, chimney
swallow, chestnut warbler, Baltimore oriole,
coot, spotted sand piper, yellow-rumped
warbler, sparrow-hawk, red-shouldered
hawk, blue-billed goose, mallard, green-wing
teal, white-bellied swallow, blue-wing teal,
red-tail hawk, silvery gull, swamp sparrow,
Kicker, black and white heron, Savannah
sparrow, brown thrush. COW blackbird, red
eyed vireo, yellow warbler, nighthawk, cave
swallow, kingbird, chewink, meadow lark,
sand-hill crane, ring bellied gull, yellow-bel-
lied woodpecker killdeer, swallow-tail hawk,
purple martin, tell-tale, humming bird, red
bellied greeb, Southern warbler, water
thrush, yellow yireo, indigo bird, whippoor-
will, marsh tern, scarlet tanager cat bird,
golden-crowned thrush, dove Wilson's snipe,
white brant king6sher. lap-wing bonting,
Turkey bizzaro, wood pee-wee, goldhnch,
marsh hawk, Maryland yellowthroat red
start, bobolink, orchard oriole, crested fly
catcher, white-eyed vireo, barn swallow,
black billed cuckoo, rose-breasted grossbeak.
Here is a list of different birds that have
had or are having their sojourn on the island
or in the waters this year Besides these
there were ten whose names the fair orni-
biologist did not know--and, of course, there
are others she has not seen. And the list
might have included swan and pelican among
the water birds, the guards informed her
but she did not see those aquaucs. Almost
any time nowadays person riding along the
avenues will see thousands of young birds
resting on the telegraph wires, whirring
among the trees, or flying up from the
meadows of this island home The young
lady says that in walk through the woods
and groves of the island at dawn in early
June one would hear as grand concert as
the feathered tribes ever give in the North
and at the present time the singing, warb.
ling, trilling echoing, calling, cooling, make
delightful music. At just sunset these
evenings, if one fingers about the grove, Just
west of the garden tract, on the south side Of
the island, and midway between Western
avenue and the old mill they will be treated
to a concert more delightful than men car
create.