Duck, Ring-necked
Description: This is a water-loving black-and-white diving duck that may be found on any of the lakes, mostly in spring.
Duck, American Black
Description: A very rare, non-diving duck, it resembles a dark female mallard, and may be seen on Garden lakes or in the Skokie River.
Dowitcher, Short-billed
Description: This is a medium-to-large shorebird often spotted on the shoreline or the mudflats south of the Dixon Prairie.
Dove, Rock***
Description: This dove can be commonly seen flying over the Garden or around the landscape.
Dove, Mourning***
Description: This dove is a common bird that can be found all over the Garden all year long.
Dickcissel
Description: If seen at all, this erratic, grassland visitor will likely be in the Dixon Prairie.
Cuckoo, Yellow-billed**
Description: This bird is often heard, but less often seen, in shrubby areas or the McDonald Woods foraging for caterpillars.
Cuckoo, Black-billed*
Description: This state-threatened species is often heard, but less often seen, in shrubby areas or in the McDonald Woods foraging for caterpillars.
Crow, American***
Description: Although their numbers were greatly reduced by West Nile virus, these easily identified birds are once again common throughout the year.
Crossbill, White-winged
Description: The male is bright pink! Seeing a pink bird in an evergreen in winter is quite a sight. The crossbill also has white wing bars and a slightly crossed bill, which enables it to extract seeds from cones. Wherever there are stands of spruces and other conifers, a flock of crossbills may be feasting. They always seem to be on the fly, so finding them at the Garden is more difficult than finding siskins and redpolls. This rare member of the finch family has a bill specialized for extracting seed from spruce cones.