116 



THE OOLOGIST. 



distance. When withia a few hundred 

 yards of a colony the noise partakes 

 strangely of that made by a reaper in 

 mowing a tield of grain. The species 

 is gregarious in the highest degree, 

 never nesting in small numbers and 

 constantly keeping in large flocks while 

 feeding. 



As we approach nearer a colony we 

 see hundreds of birds coming and go- 

 ing, some bringing nesting material in' 

 their bills, others carrying food to the 

 young. Now we have arrived at the 

 edge of the swamp and are peering 

 thi'ough the tules at the coarsely con- 

 structed nests in numbei'less profusion. 



All the smaller birds must depart 

 from the vicinity where they breed, 

 for like the rogues which they some- 

 times are, they take possession of the 

 newly constructed nests of the banish- 

 ed residents for foundations for their 

 own bulky domicile. I have found 

 nests of the Arkansas Goldfinch and 

 Heerman's Song Sparrow containing a 

 full complement of eggs thus used. 



Two broods and occasionally three 

 are reared in a season. The first set of 

 eggs ai'e deposited about the last of 

 April and the second during the latter 

 part of May or the first of June. The 

 nest is a large, bulky structure coarsely 

 made of grass, strips of tules and finer 

 grasses, lined with fine dry grass and 

 a few horse hairs. 



The material that forms the bottom 

 of the nest is firmly matted together 

 with a layer of mud and sometimes 

 horse dung is used as a substitute. 

 The nest though made rather heavy by 

 the layer of mud is but loosely fastened 

 to the supporting vegetation which ac- 

 counts for the many nests that are 

 found tipped over. The nests are plac- 

 ed at a height ranging from a foot to 

 ten feet from the ground or water. 



The ground color of a series of eggs 

 presents two phases of coloration, the 

 light blue, which is the prevailing type 

 and ths light brown, which nu^rge to- 



gether. The light brown color is deep- 

 est on the large end of the egg and 

 shades off into light blue or pale olive 

 toward tha apex of the egg. The eggs 

 are spotted, blotched, clouded and 

 marked with spots, blotches and zig- 

 zag lines of black, lilac, brown, brown- 

 ish-black and lavender, which are 

 usually gathered about the larger end 

 of the egg to form a circle or wreath. 



Twenty-five typical eggs give an av- 

 erage measurement of 1 OOx.73 inches. 

 The extremes found in a series of 

 twenty sets are: length 1.29 to .89 and 

 width .78 to .63 inches. 



Three eggs generally constitute a 

 complete set; two and four eggs are 

 not unusual complements, but five is 

 extremely rare. In collecting in a large 

 colony, I only found one set of five 

 eggs where there were scores of three 

 and four and quite a few young birds. 



This species breeds in common with 

 Bicolored, Red-winged and Yellow- 

 headed Blackbirds. They, also, ac- 

 company in large flocks the herds of 

 sheep which roam the sterile plains, 

 feeding on the insects which, as they, 

 delight in following these creatui'es for 

 the subsistence which they derive from 

 them. 



Edmund Heller, 

 Riverside, Calif. 



Another California Trip. 



It is with growing interest that I 

 read the many pleasant narratives re- 

 corded in these pages, and there is of- 

 ten awakened in me a desire to relate 

 some of my experiences, just to be mov- 

 ing along with the rest of the boys. 



No doubt there is moi-e actual benefit 

 to be derived from a more complete ob- 

 servation and discussion of a single 

 faiuil} or species than in a general talk 

 such as the narration of a collecting trip. 

 But it is equally true that the descrip- 

 tion of a day's hunt through an "orni- , 

 thologists paradise"; with its many in- ■ 



