THE OOLOGIST 



79 



cheap, cheap." A very small bird may 

 be seen flitting about among the 

 bushes and the initiated will recog- 

 nize at once the Verdin (auriparus F. 

 flaviceps) and know it to be the author 

 of the song just heard. When one who 

 is well acquainted with this bird hears 

 this song or call during the months 

 from April till July he will look around 

 a little and be quite sure to iind its 

 nest in some nearby bush. 



The nest is a globular affair of 

 thorny twigs. It is about the size of 

 a large cocoanut. A mesquite or cat- 

 claw is usually chosen for the nesting 

 site, though small, lone chollas are 

 frequently selected. I also found one 

 in an allthorn. The nest is placed at 

 the tip of the branch or top of the 

 cholla and is quite conspicuous. 



Both birds work at nest building. 

 I watched a pair which had just be- 

 gun the frame work of their nest in a 

 small cholla. Arriving with a short, 

 thorny twig of acacia, the bird would 

 crawl inside, dragging the twig after 

 it. The twigs were about six inches 

 long and it required considerable exer- 

 tion for the bird to succeed in this 

 maneuver. Once there, it proceeded to 

 push it into place in the walls, shaking 

 the whole cactus in its efforts. After 

 the outside of sticks is completed, a 

 heavy lining of small dry leaves and 

 grass is used to stop up the inter- 

 stices, and a lining of feathers com- 

 pletes the nest. The opening is low 

 down on one side and has a fringe of 

 dry grass projecting all around more 

 particularly from above. This entrance 

 is about as large around as a person's 

 finger. 



Four, sometimes five, eggs are a full 

 complement. They have a delicate 

 bluish green ground color, with fine 

 reddish brown specks pretty well dis- 

 tributed over the whole surface but 

 usually clustered thickest at the large 

 «nd. They are very thin shelled. 



When the nest is approached, the 

 male bird frequently sounds the alarm 

 to his mate who is setting and she 

 slips off and away. About as frequent- 

 ly, however, I have poked my finger in- 

 to the nest and found the bird on her 

 eggs. 



The birds roost in old nests or mock 

 nests aiid 1 have, on several occasions, 

 found dead birds in nests which I was 

 investigating. 



They are courageous little fellows 

 about attacking larger birds. Lrast 

 spring I was interested in watching a 

 shrike pursuing a Lucy's Warbler, 

 which was calling wildly and doing its 

 best to get out of harms way. It flew 

 right up into the air, followed by the 

 shrike which was in turn pursued by 

 a pair of Verdins, cheeping with all 

 their might. The procession was 

 brought up by a Phainopepla who fol- 

 lowed, apparently, just out of curios- 

 ity. I am glad to say the warbler es- 

 caped though do not feel that the ver- 

 dins were instrumental. The circum- 

 stance is cited only to show their fear- 

 lessness in the presence of larger 

 birds. 



Two broods are raised, one in April 

 and one in June. In the mesquite for- 

 est near Tucson I found them breeding 

 plentifully with mant nests placed as 

 high as 25 feet from the ground. 



F. C. Willard. 

 Tombstone, Ariz. 



The Ovenbird. 



(Seiurus aurocapillus) 

 In this section of northern New Jer- 

 sey (Essex County) during the early 

 part of May, wanderers on our sylvan 

 waysides and by-paths who are fortun- 

 ate enough to be sharp of eye as well 

 as of ear, are the select few who may 

 see and hear this little bird as he 

 walks about on the ground and utters 

 a most captivating strain of modulated 

 notes, very low and scarcely audible at 



