«8 



THE OOLOGIST. 



.02X.63 ia. These were taken from a 

 pensile nest composed of Fan Palm 

 tibres and suspended from the under 

 side of a leaf of the same tree about 

 eight feet from the ground. The nest 

 was prepared nearly a week before it 

 was occupied. 



Two other birds of whom I have seen 

 but little written are the Californian 

 Thrasher {Harpohynrhus reclivivus) and 

 the Sage Thrasher {Oroscoptes montan- 

 us) The former is a bii'd of sly, retir- 

 ing habits, frequenting the scrub oak 

 and thick clumps of nettles which 

 abound in nearly every canyon or "ar- 

 royo" in this section. I have a set of 

 two eggs taken May 15, 1897, from an 

 almost impenetrable clump of nettles. 

 This bird is a very close sitter, often 

 allowing the collector to lift her from 

 the nest. 



The set mentioned above consists of 

 two eggs, incubation advanced, which 

 measure respectively 1.25x. 76 and 1.27 

 X.75 in. They are a light pea-green in 

 color, one closely and evenly spotted 

 with clove brown and the other sparse- 

 ly blotched with cinnamon, especially 

 about the larger end. The nest was 

 very rudely constructed, being scarcely 

 better than that of the Carolina Dove 

 {Zenaidura viacmira). 



About a month before this set was 

 obtained I took a set of four fresh eggs 

 from a similar nest about one hundred 

 feet from the one just described. From 

 this fact I would infer that the last set 

 was a second or third "edition." 



About two miles south of this place 

 there is a lai'ge "wash" which is cov- 

 ered with sage, greenwood and cactus. 

 Here the Sage Thi-asher nests in abun- 

 dance, breeding in the low sandy sage 

 plants and making its nest almost en- 

 tirely from small twigs of the white or 

 black sage with a lining of fine grasses 

 and twigs. The eggs of this bird are 

 often confounded with those of the 

 common Mockingbird [Mimus polyglot- 

 tus) and unless the nest is taken or the 

 bird seen it is to some extent very diffi- 



cult to difterentiate the two species. 



Mj' cabinet contains a set of four 

 eggs of this bird taken on May 30, 1897, 

 from a nest in a white sage plant some 

 eighteen inches from the ground. The 

 eggs are greenish l)lue spotted with 

 cinnamon; average size, .9ox.67 inches. 



Another of our more common birds 

 is the Road-runner {Oeococcyx calif arm- 

 arms) or Paisano as the Mexicans call 

 it. This is a peculiar bird, very swift 

 of foot and will almost invariably lead 

 its pursuer to the nest. 1 have a set of 

 five eggs of this species taken April 30. 

 1897, from a very large nest probably 

 the accumulation of two ur three years' 

 nesting in the same place. The nest 

 was placed in a bushy alder tree about 

 four feet from the ground. The eggs 

 bear a slight resemblance, both in 

 shape and color, to those of the eastern 

 Bob-white but are of course somewhat 

 larger and moi'e oval; average 1.55x1.19 

 in. Two of the eggs in this set were 

 fresh while the other three were in var- 

 ious stages of incubation. 



I think that this bird will, when pos- 

 sible, shift her domestic responsibilities 

 to the nest of another bii'd, for in two 

 instances I have found Road-''unner's 

 eggs in the nest of the California Part- 

 ridge [Callipepla californica) and once 

 in the nest of the California Towhee 

 Pipilofuscus crissalis). 



H&RKY H. Dunn, 

 FuUerton, Calif. 



Main Guy of the Big Tent:— I have 

 tried the other papers, but the OoLO- 

 GiST is the main guy of the big tent just 

 as it was when I first took it 11 or 12 

 years ago. — Harry B. Sargeant. 



An Ad. that Paid— Still a Sub.:— 

 I saw Mr. Hatha way's exchange in the 

 March number and have bought out his 

 entire collection of minerals, so I con- 

 cluded to try the same trick with my 

 coins. * * * Years ago when I lived 

 in Essex, Yt. 1 began to take the Young 

 OoLoGiST, Yol. I, No. 1. — C. Abbott 

 Davis, B. S. 



