THE OSPREY. 



19 



EL DORADO COUNTY NOTES. 



WILFRED H. OSGOOD, U. S. BIOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



EL DORADO County is one of California's well- tudes, however, it commences breeding somewhat 



favored with bird-life. From the chapparal- later than below. 



covered hills which rise from the hot valley of At Riverton several nests with fresh eggs were 



Sacramento on the west, to the snow-capped Pyramid found June 9, and a few days later at the snow-line 



Peak and the cool shores of Lake Tahoe on the (then about 8000 feet,) half-completed nests were 





east, there are ample — - 

 conditions for an exten- , 

 sive and varied fauna. 

 In the foothills of the 

 west side the most com- 

 mon birds are the Jays 

 {Apheloconia ca lifonii- 

 ra), the Wren-tits {Cha- 

 iiiira f. ht'iis/ta7oi), the 

 Towhees (Fipi/i> /'. cris- 

 salis), and the Wood- 

 peckers {Melanerpes f. 

 bairdi). In this chap- 

 paral belt decidedly the 

 most characteristic bird 

 is Pipilo f. crissalis. A 

 little higher up it dis- 

 appears, and the whole 

 bird-life changes as an- 

 other zone is reached 

 At Fyffe, at an elevation 

 of 3700 feet, there is a 

 curious mixture of 

 birds of several zones, 

 due, I suppose, in a 

 greater or less degree, 

 to slope exposure. 

 Within a radius of half 

 a mile, and under ap 

 proximately the same 

 conditions, I found birds 

 which are characteristic 

 of the higher altitudes, 

 such as the Western 

 Golden-crowned Kinglet {Regiilits s. olivaii-oits), 

 Townsend's Solitaire {A/yadestes hncnscwidii), and 



OSPREV NEST .AT NARR.AG.ANSETT B.AY. 

 OSPKEY SKRIES NO. 10. — PHOTOGRAPH BY H. S. HATHAWAY 



noted. Still later, on 

 June 15, down on the 

 east side near Bijou, 

 slightly incubated eggs 

 were taken, and only 

 three days after this, 

 on returning to Fyffe, I 

 observed tledged young. 

 An incomplete nest 

 found near the snow- 

 line was oddly located 

 for a Junco's. It was 

 placed 12 inches above 

 the ground on a shelf- 

 like projection in the 

 hollow end of a fallen 

 pine. It was about half 

 done when found, and 

 I watched the birds for 

 some time as they 

 worked on it. The log 

 was lying in a little 

 meadow near a stream 

 and patches of snow lay 

 about on the ground, 

 so that the nearest place 

 in which one would ex- 

 pect to find Juncos nest- 

 ing was several hundred 

 yards away. The only 

 other instance of an el- 

 evated Junco's nest that 

 has come to my notice 

 is that observed by Mr. 

 Kaeding (' Nidologist ' III., 141). Juncos were very 

 common in the sage-brush about Lake Tahoe. In 



Mountain Chickadee (Purt/s gafitbel/i), together with driving from Bijou to Tallac House our horse flushed 

 those of lower zone, as Black-headed Grosbeak {Habia several birds from their nests by the roadside. They 

 mehinoLL'phala), Spurred Towhee [Pipi/o in. iiiegalonyx) were very similarly situated, each being under the sage- 

 and Lazuli Bunting [Pas.seriii<i (i>nana). brush, well hidden by the mat of branches at the base 

 At this point also the range of California Partridge of the bush. One nest I stumbled on in the dark. 

 {Callipepla califoniica) meets that of the Plumed We were camped about a mile from Bijou and one 

 Partridge {Oreorty.x p. p/iuiiiffni.':,) neither species evening I walked through the brush to town to pro- 

 being very common, however. One of the best-known cure a few camp necessaries. When I returned it 

 birds of the Sierra is Thurber's Junco ( Junco h. thur- was quite late and very dark. I had almost reached 

 heri]. At about 7000 feet I found it to be the most camp and was crashing along through the brush, 

 common bird. As I went higher or lower from this when suddenly I heard a little flutter under my feet, 

 point it gradually decreased in numbers, but its I struck a match and after a short search found a 

 breeding range apparently extends through the entire Junco's nest containing three slightly incubated eggs 

 Transition and Canadian zones. At the higher alti- which I bore triumphantly into camp. The next day 



