54 



THE OS PREY. 



on the links of the Tacoma Golf Club, and all 

 my information has been given me by other 

 players- Though the links are used by dozens 

 of people every day, many more Larks are to 

 be found there than in any other locality; the 

 birds become very tame, and apparently prefer 

 human society. 



My first nest was found on May 22. 1897, and 

 contained three eggs, about half incubated. 

 It was situated ten feet from the edge of a 

 '• putting green " (golf players will know what 

 I mean), in the center of a clump of scattered 

 ferns, and in a saucer-shaped hollow evidently 

 scratched by the birds themselves. The female 

 left the nest when I was but two feet from it 

 and ran about twenty feet, where she remained 

 feeding until I left, making- no complaint and 

 showing not the slightest uneasiness. The nest 

 was level with the ground, and composed of 

 fine dead grass, with flowers of everlasting 

 weed for a lining. It is the larger of the two 

 in my collection and I think about average size, 

 the external dimensions being: width 4.00 

 inches; depth 2.75 inches; internal width 2.50 

 inches; depth 2.25. The three eggs were placed 

 with the small ends together, in the same 

 manner that Sandpipers and Plovers arrang-e 

 their eggs. The ground color is slaty-white, 

 scattered rather thickly over the entire surface 

 with small, faint spots of greenish brown, ex- 

 cepting in one specimen whose brown spots 

 have a tingle of red. The measurements are: 

 0.83 X 0.61; 0.83 x 0.59; 82 x 0.59. Another 

 nest was reported to me on the same day that 



contained two young birds and one egg' about 

 to hatch. 



My other nest was found July 26, 1897, in 

 the same accidental manner. This was within 

 25 feet of a golf hole, well up on a " putting 

 green," where there was no shade or conceal- 

 ment, the grass being not a quarter of an inch 

 high. It is strange that the eggs had not been 

 stepped on or broken by a ball rolling over 

 them. This nest, also, was in a hollow evi- 

 dently scratched by the birds, apparently in a 

 gTeat hurry, and composed entirely of tine 

 dead grass. Its measurements are: external 

 diameter 3.00; depth 2.00; internal diameter 

 2.25; depth 1.50. The two eggs have the same 

 slatj'-gray ground color as tho.se of the first set, 

 but the markings, tliough similar in distribution 

 and size, are much browner. Incubation was 

 about two-thirds advanced. Their measure- 

 ments are: 0.83 x 0.60; 0.82 x 0.58. The female 

 flushed when I was some fifteen feet distant, 

 flying' up into the air and not coming back while 

 I was in sight. 



Of the number of eggs that complete a set as 

 a rule, I do not feel positive. Numerous sets of 

 three have been reported, and other sets of two 

 and of four, all from the same locality; but I 

 am not sure that the alleged sets of four may 

 not have belonged to the Western Vesper Spar- 

 row (Poarcctcs i^raniiiiciis coufntis). I had no 

 time to collect any of these reported nests, but 

 am fairlj' well satisfied that three is the usual 

 number of eggs, seldom more or fewer. 



NESTING OF VIRGINIA'S WARBLER. 



By W. B. JuDSON. 



) Y first acquaintance with 

 this rare little Warbler 

 was made in the moun- 

 tains of Southern Ariz- 

 ona one morning while 

 I was in camp skinning 

 birds. The other boys 

 had all gone collecting 

 and left me with a 

 couple of rifles, but no 

 shotgun as they thought 

 I would be skinning all 

 day and would get no chance to shoot. It 

 was about the first of May that this little bird 

 disturbed my thoughts by sitting in a small 

 tree a few feet off and keeping up a racket 

 on account of an Arizona Jay that was in 

 the same tree. After skinning the Coues' Fly- 

 catcher which I was at work upon, I went out 

 to examine the small bird with a big noise 

 which I could not recognize. Taking a good 

 look without recognizing the species, I decided 

 that I wanted the bird, and made preparatiuus 

 accordingly. I took one of my rifle cartridges, 

 a 45'7o, loaded it with shot, and getting within 

 a few feet of the bird I was able to bring it 

 down. A few days afterward, while up the 

 same canyon, I shot a female with an egg al- 

 most ready to be laid; so I concluded it was 

 about time to hunt for nests. On the lyth of 

 May I started out to visit a part of the moun- 



tains I had not yet explored, a short distance 

 from camp. 



The canyon I went up was steep, rocky, and 

 jiretty well covered with large pines. After 

 going about a mile I sat down to rest be- 

 fore tackling the next hard stretch. Then I 

 saw a Painted Redstart fly across the canyon 

 and disappear on the opposite side amongst 

 rocks and grass. I immediatel}' gave chase 

 with the expectation of finding a nest, but was 

 disappointed when I found the bird was only 

 looking for food, and so thought 1 had a hard 

 climb for nothing. But I was mistaken; for 

 just as I was about to take vengence on the 

 poor Redstart, I almost stepped on the nest of a 

 Virginia's Warbler which was hidden in the 

 grass at my feet. The nest was placed on the 

 ground under a bunch of grass, so well con- 

 cealed that it would have been impossible to 

 find without seeing the bird leave it. The pos- 

 ition was 30 feet from the bottom of the canyon, 

 and at an altitude of 7,000 feet above sea level. 

 About 10 days later I went up the same canyon 

 again, and found another nest containing four 

 birds, just hatched. This nest was about 300 

 yards from the first, and was located exactly 

 like the other. 



On the 1st day of June, in company with IV'.-. 

 O. W. Howard, I made a tiip to the same can- 

 3-on and located the third nest, which contained 

 a fine set of four fresh eggs. I had climbed a 

 large rock to look into a small cave; after ge'tting 



