32 PACIFIC COAST AVIFAUNA No. 9 



formed me that he was not certain of the exact day but that the fifteenth day of 

 March would not miss it more than a day or two. If this particular set of eggs 

 was almost complete in incubation by the middle of March it must have been de- 

 posited during the last days in February or the first in March. Other nesting 

 dates are given in the following table: 



Date Number of Eggs in Set Incubation 



June 28 1906 4 Advanced 



May 4 1907 2 Fresh 



June 2"] 1907 4 Begun 



May 4 1908 4 Well along 



March 20 1909 4 Half incubated 



March 15 1910 4 Nearly fresh 



March 25 1910 4 Small embryos 



A typical nest throughout the cultivated sections is composed of a handful 

 of white pebbles about the size of peas and very uniform in size, mixed with an 

 almost equal number of dry shells of melon seeds of the previous year 

 Frequently a few dry, broken-up pieces of melon stems are used also, the whole 

 being spread out over a space the size of a saucer, with the eggs resting in the 

 center. As the result of coming in contact with a sharp rock that sometimes finds 

 its way to the nest in place of the usual smooth ones the eggs occasionally show 

 small gravel punctures. 



On the summer-fallow fields only a few dry grass blades line the place where 

 the eggs rest, while around the ponds of the west side the eggs generally lie 

 half covered in the powdered alkali dust without a scrap of nest lining. 



Mountain Plover. Podasocys montanus (Townsend). 



The Mountain Plover is a not uncommon winter visitant in suitable places 

 on the west side plains. Its preference, seemingly, is for the open pasture lands, 

 and it is seldom found in the bushy areas, as is the Long-billed Curlew. The 

 presence or lack of water seems to m.ake very little difference to this plover so 

 long as there is a large open field near at hand. The birds feed in large, loose 

 flocks, running ahead of an intruder and only flying when too closely pressed. 



December 3, 1904, there was a very large number of these birds near the 

 roadside between the Artesian Lake and New Hope. Mr. Joseph Sloanaker re- 

 ports them as common near Raisin during the winter of 1910-11, and the writer 

 has a specimen from there, taken November 26, 1910. 



Plumed Quail. Oreortyx picta plumifera (Gould). 



This splendid bird is known to sportsmen and campers universally as "Moun- 

 tain Quail". While a resident of the higher Sierras, it has been known, during 

 very severe storms in the mountains, to come down almost to the plains. It has 

 been definitely reported from near Centerville, and it is on this record that the 

 species has been given a place on this list. 



Valley Quail. Lophortyx califomica vallicola (Ridgway). 

 There is no bird in Fresno County, not even excepting the Mockingbird, 

 that is so well known to all classes as is this one. It is known everywhere to 



