152 



Bird - Lore 



one egg. The bird was sitting, and slipped 

 awaj- when I approached. 



A Roadrunner's nest, in a cactus patch, 

 three feet from the ground, a shallow 

 platform of sticks lined with grass, con- 

 tained two young and two eggs. The old 

 bird came back while I was there, but 

 sneaked away again without making a 

 sound. 



A Say's Phoebe nest in an oil-well 

 derrick which was not in use, on two 

 five-foot timbers, standing on end in the 

 corner, made of fine grass, rootlets and 

 small clods of earth, lined with wool and 

 a little horse-hair, contained two fresh 

 eggs; two more were laid later. 



An Anthony's Towhee nest, in an elder 

 tree, seven feet from the ground, made 

 entirely of grass, contained three eggs, 

 marked heavily for this species. 



Saw several Cactus Wrens' nests, but 

 could not reach them for the cactus. 

 Found one in columnar cactus three feet 

 from the ground. It was retort-shaped, 

 with the opening at the side, with thick, 

 compact walls of dry grass and sticks lined 

 with feathers; contained four fresh salmon- 

 pink eggs. 



A Black-tailed Gnatcatcher's nest, in a 

 bush 2 feet from the ground, deep cup- 

 shaped, of shreds of bark and lichens 

 together with spider-web, and lined with 

 rabbit fur, contained three young and an 

 egg- 

 On May 15, 1910, in the willows along 

 the San Gabriel river, southwest of 

 Artesia, I found the following nests: 



A Song Sparrow's nest, in a willow tree, 

 six feet from the ground, of sticks and 

 marsh grass lined with finer grass, con- 

 tained four well-incubated eggs. 



A Western Black Phoebe nest, in a 

 willow tree that leaned almost horizon- 

 tally over the water, on the end of a short 

 dead stub that grew out from the under 

 side of the tree at an angle of about 45°, 

 made of mud and strips of bark, lined 

 with bark and hair, contained two young. 

 This species usually builds on buildings or 

 bridges here. 



A Thrasher's nest, same species as noted 

 above, in a willow tree, six feet from the 



ground, of willow twigs lined with rootlets. 

 The nest was empty but the female was 

 sitting on it, and both birds made a fuss 

 . when I approached. 



Found a number of Willow Goldfinch's 

 nests; a typical one was in a willow sap- 

 ling at the edge of the river, seven feet 

 from the ground, cup-shaped, of soft 

 plant fiber lined with willow and thistle- 

 down; contained three eggs. 



Found three Arkansas Kingbird's nests, 

 could not reach two, the third was in a 

 willow tree about twenty feet from the 

 ground, of small sticks and grass, thickly 

 lined with white cow-hair; contained three 

 eggs. 



A Hummingbird's nest, species un- 

 determined, on a small horizontal limb of 

 a willow tree, ten feet from the ground 

 and three feet from the trunk of the tree. 

 Made of white cottony plant down held 

 together by spiders' web; contained two 

 fresh eggs. The female was very tame, 

 and came back to the nest while I was in 

 the tree. 



A Black-headed Grosbeak's nest, in 

 young willows and blackberry vines, five 

 feet from the ground, a flimsy structure 

 of sticks lined with rootlets, contained 

 three well-incubated eggs. The male bird 

 was sitting and remained nearby, but I 

 did not see the female. — John McB. 

 Robertson. . 



Notes from Illinois 



During the winter of 1909-1910, 

 several White-crowned Sparrows took up 

 their winter quarters in our near vicinity. 

 They were r£corded several times during 

 the winter, being found at different 

 places. 



It was very much of a surprise to find 

 a Lesser Scaup Duck on a small creek 

 very near my home on June 25. It 

 stayed there for several days. 



The finding of the Song Sparrows and 

 Red-winged Blackbirds on Christmas 

 Day was very surprising also, and it was 

 with wonder that we saw the Red-bellied 

 Woodpecker for the first time that day. 



.\ Carolina Rail, or Sora, remained in 



