218 



THE OOLOGIST 



find a nest placed in a shrub, several 

 feet from the ground, is truly rare. 



My friend Moody and I were nest 

 hunting one sunny Spring afternoon 

 and on our way homeward, for con- 

 venience sake, walked along the top 

 of a large mining flume. Our days in- 

 vestigations were far from satisfac- 

 tory to us and we were filing along 

 Indian fashion, in no over-pleasant 

 frame of mind. In close proximity to 

 the flume, so close that one could 

 touch it, grew a stunted pine about 6 

 feet high. The top had been broken 

 off by seme destructive pedestrian, 

 which caused a "bunchy" growth to 

 fcrm where the top should be. It 

 seemed to n^e an ideal place for a 

 nest of some kind — in fact, I had a 

 presentment I would find something 

 there — and I gave the clump a rap 

 with my improved walking stick. It 

 was as I had expected. Mrs. Oregon 

 .lunco flushed in a rather hasty man- 

 ner and a short search revealed the 

 nest, unusually well made. Incuba- 

 tion had just begun. 



The next day Dr. Moody photo- 

 graphed the set. 



My only solution to the problem of 

 this unusual nesting site, is, that on 

 account ct the numerous gophers and 

 chipmunks v.hich infested that vicin- 

 ity, nesting on the ground was an un- 

 certain undertaking. I have found 

 many nests destroyed by these little 

 pests and it is seldom one finds a 

 ground bird nesting near their colo- 

 nies. 



The other set (Montana Junco), was 

 found in the damp, swampy lowlands 

 of a small river bottom, placed upon 

 the ground amongst the sprouts and 

 grass, at the base of an Alder. This, 

 to my certain knowledge, was the 3d 

 set cf this Junco, as a friend of mine 

 obtained the f.rst; the second was dis- 

 covered by me and, leaving it for a 

 call the next day, I returned to the 

 spot only to find evidence of a "meas- 



ly"' Gopher's visit. Result — no eggs. 

 The third set of this bird was placed 

 within 50 yar.ds of the other two. 



This species, the whole family in- 

 cluded, are quarrelsome in the highest 

 degree and it is no uncommon thing 

 to see a "scrap" near the nesting site, 

 occasioned by the accidental intrusion 

 of a neighbor. 



Both the Montana and Oregon nest 

 very early here and also very late, as 

 may be seen by the fact that my dates 

 show a set taken on the 29th of 

 IMarch and one on the 3rd of August. 

 The first set mentioned was placed on 

 an open hillside en a bare spot about 

 S feet square, the rest of the hill be- 

 ing covered with snow. The set found 

 August 3rd was fresh. I also have a 

 data cf one set July 18th, but these 

 were badly incubated — too much so to 

 save. 



While this record of the unusual 

 length of the nesting pei'iod of these 

 Juncos does not definitely determine 

 it. still it sets one to thinking that 

 there may be more than one brood a 

 season. I think further investigations 

 along this line will verify the suspi- 

 cion. 



In the Clearwater section of Idaho, 

 I have seen a Spurred Towhee raise 

 two broods in one season, building 

 the new nest for the second brood 

 within a yard of the first. The site 

 was within 10 feet of a public road 

 and practically in town. This bird 

 was evidently of a sociable disposi- 

 tion, but she did not owe the success- 

 ful rearing of her broods to the un- 

 usual quality of the boys in the neigh- 

 borhood or the dislike for Towhee 

 meat by the cats in the vicinity. She 

 had placed the nest in a large pile of 

 thcrn brush, impenetrable by either 

 man or beast. The nesting song of 

 the male drew me to the spot and I 

 easily flushed the mother bird. A 

 long search — unnecessary to say a care- 



