agelaius (belonging to a flock) phoeniceus (deep red)
Wednesday, May 23, 1979 – 10:30 a.m.
Des Plaines, Illinois – O’Hare International – Manheim Road
My roommate and I had just pulled off the Kennedy Expressway onto Manheim Road when I spotted a male Red-winged Blackbird perched on a fence post in a weedy field between the airport and the road.
cyanocitta (from kynos, blue, and kitta, chattering bird) cristata (crested)
Sunday, May 13, 1979 – 1:30 pm
Des Plaines, Illinois
My girlfriend and I spotted two Blue Jays in a Norway maple in a residential area. They were moving around among the branches that hung over the road. One of them had a stick in its bill.
sturnus (starling) vulgaris (common)
Sunday, May 13, 1979 – 11:01 am
Des Plaines, Illinois
This starling was foraging on a front lawn in a residential area.
For some reason, Starling is the one common neighborhood bird that I hadn’t become familiar with as a kid. Dad had pointed out other neighborhood birds to me, particularly when he heard them sing, but I don’t recall him ever telling me about Starlings.
turdus (a thrush) migratorius (wanderer)
Sunday, May 13, 1979 – 11:00 am
Des Plaines, Illinois
This robin was foraging on a front lawn in a residential area. I didn’t even have to look in my field guide. Good thing, because at this time in my birding career, I had neither field guide or binoculars. I soon remedied this with loans of both items from Dad.
columba (a dove or pigeon) livia, (blue, blue-gray, or lead-colored)
Saturday, May 12, 1979 — 8:00 p.m.
Chicago, Illinois — LaSalle Street
First of all, let me state that I know this bird has been renamed “Rock Pigeon,” but that’s just silly.
My roommate and I walked to the nearby grocery store for something or other.
As we walked by a church, we saw many Rock Doves lined up on ledges near the roof. A few others were perched on a light pole in front of the church. Of course, I’d seen pigeons all over the place while I was living in Chicago, but these were different. Now I was listing.
