20 



THE OSPREY. 



I was much pleased at taking a nice set of eight eggs bird now began to realize that a real calamity had 

 of the Mountain Chickadee {I'anis o-a,„in'Ii ,) from a befallen her, and hopped about below me with a 

 woodpecker's excavation in a cedar stub, 8 feet from quick, jerky gait, at the same time chirping excitedly, 

 the ground. These were the only eggs of this species Several times she approached the bush and then 

 which I took, but I noticed .several nests with young, suddenly turned away, as if fearing to commit an in- 

 one of them being in a little stump less than 2 feet discretion. Once a Calaveras Warbler appeared in 

 from the ground. It is quite a common bird in all the vicinity, but it was promptly and vigorously 

 the higher parts of the county. chased away, A Green-tailed Towhee that happened 

 The Black-throated Gray Warbler is another bird near received the same treatment, and finally my 

 which deserves mention here. Although one of the bird became bolder and entered the bush which con- 

 commonest warblers of the Sierra, breeding records tained the nest. She commenced at the bottom and 



seem to be scarce. At 

 our camp two miles 

 north of Riverton it 

 was quite common, 

 and I succeeded in 

 taking one set of eggs 

 on June 9. As I was 

 walking along the side 

 of a gulch well-cov- 

 ered with low brush 

 {Cea/io/Z/i/s s/'/).a little 

 gray bird flew across 

 in front of me and lit 

 in a bush nearly a 

 hundred yards away. 

 As most of the Black- 

 throated Grays I had 

 seen had been high up 

 in the large coniferous 

 trees, I did not recog- 

 nize this one in this 

 locality, so made my 

 way up to the bush in 

 which it had lighted. 

 As I neared the bush 

 I began to look about 

 for the bird, but did not see it until I stood within two 

 feet and looked down upon it sitting on its nest. The 

 bird sat very closely, and remained until my hand 

 was within 12 inches, when she slid off quietly, re- 

 vealing four very daintily marked eggs. The nest 

 was in the crotch of a little dead branch and scarcely 

 18 inches from the ground. After examining it care- 

 fully I stepped back six or eight feet and sat down 

 on the hillside, with the nest in full view. The 



worked up, spirally, 

 through the bush, 

 passing the nest as if 

 oblivious of it and flit- 

 ting out to an adjacent 

 bush. This operation 

 was repeated several 

 times. Finally, as she 

 neared the nest for the 

 ast time, her chirping, 

 which had not abated 

 for a moment, modu- 

 ated and changed to 

 a gentle cluck of as- 

 surance as she settled 

 on her eggs. Then she 

 cocked her eye at me, 

 as much as to say , 

 ■I'm sure you must 

 see me, but my busi- 

 ness here is very ur- 

 gent." Five minutes 

 later, while walking 

 over the crest of the 

 hill through a dense 

 thicket of Ccaiiotlnis 

 and Antostaphylos, I flushed a Thick-billed Sparrow 

 [Passcrelhi i. iiici^ar/iync/ia) from her nest. It harmon- 

 ized with its surroundings most perfectly, and it was 

 some minutes before I located it It was composed 

 almost entirely of a fine dark brown fibre, just the 

 color of the dead leaves and shreds of bark on the 

 ground around it. Added to this effect were the dark, 

 uncolored limbs of the manzanita above it, and the 

 eggs themselves, which were entirelv covered with 

 rich, dark brown blotches. 



A peak on south wall of Walker Pass, Sierra Nevadas, 80 miles west of 

 Sonera, Cal. Altitude 11500 feet. Photograph by H. H, Kaediiig. 



WINTERING OF THE RED-HEADED WOODPECKER IN WISCONSIN. 



PROF. LUDWIG KUMLIEN, 



Two statements have lately appeared in this maga- 

 zine in regard to above. I wish to say that this bird 

 frequently remains with us through the winter, in 

 suitable localities ; even as far north as Steven's Point. 

 They seem to prefer heavy white oak timber, where 

 there are plenty of holes. I have in mind one piece 

 of woodland where I have seen them through the en- 

 tire winter, and in mild winters five or six at a time. 



MILTON COLLEGE, WIS. 



These birds made frequent trips to a field of standing 

 corn, and could often be seen flying from the field to 

 the timber with something in their bills. Whatever 

 it was, they placed it on a horizontal limb and after 

 vigorously striking at it a few times appeared to eat 

 the pieces. I have no positive proof that it was corn, 

 but many an assertion has gone as fact on less evi- 

 dence. 



