60 PACIFIC COAST AVIFAUNA No. 9 



our birds like the dense foliage and swaying branches of the willows bordering 

 the canals and ditches. The majority of them find nesting sites in places provid- 

 ed by man's agency. Formerly they resorted to the framework of flumes, wind- 

 mills, outbuildings, and even to the tops of fence posts ; but of recent years the 

 rural telephone lines that have thrown their network of wires and poles all over 

 the valley have provided nesting sites galore, and of a kind seemingly exactly 

 .suited to the requirements of these birds. Nearly all the smaller lines are sup- 

 ported on poles without crossbars, the majority of these poles being about four 

 inches in diameter and extending to a height of about sixteen feet, excepting 

 where the lines cross entrances to farmhouses or intersecting roads, in which ca.se 

 the wires are raised several feet to permit the passage of derricks and other tail 

 machinery. This additional height is attained by nailing two two-inch pieces to 

 the original pole on opposite sides, thus leaving a four inch platform protected on 

 two sides, in which a nest just fits snugly. A drive through the country during 

 the summer months now reveals a pair of kingbirds tenanted in nearly every 

 such pole. 



It must not be understood, however, that trees are never resorted to, as not 

 a few pairs find congenial homes in trees around dwellings. They are nearly 

 always encouraged to remain, as they are of great service in driving away hawks, 

 setting up a alarm at the approach of any sort of marauder. One pair that nest- 

 ed near my home were fearless in driving away any bird that chanced to pass 

 anywhere near, and I often saw a poor, clumsy Turkey Vulture tumble nearly 

 to the earth in unsuccessful attempts to elude its pursuers. Doves escaped only 

 by their very rapid flight, although often chased over a quarter of a mile. After 

 one of these exploits the male always returned triumphantly to the nest, where 

 he, no doubt, received much praise for his bravery, judging by the animated con- 

 versation that took place. 



Nest building begins about the first of May, and kingbirds may be found 

 nesting all through this, and the following month. My earliest records are May 

 6, 1907, a set of five slightly incubated eggs, and May i, 1910, a set of four in 

 which incubation had begun. 



Four or five eggs are the usual complements but some females deposit very 

 small sets at times. On June 11, 1906, I found a nest with three heavily incubat- 

 ed eggs; the next season, in a tree not far from that place, I found one of these 

 birds incubating two eggs on May 26, and no more were ever added. It is quite 

 probable that this second set was the product of the same female that laid the 

 set of three the previous season. 



One season a pair of kingbirds, after spending several days in noisy discus- 

 sion regarding several sites for a nest, finally began on June 3 the work of house, 

 building on a windmill. On the morning of July 4 the last one of their five 

 offspring left this home, thus establishing, for a certainty, the length of time re- 

 quired to complete a nest, deposit a set of eggs, and get a-wing a family of their 

 kind. 



AsH-TiiROATED FLYCATCHER. Mylarchus cinerascens cinerascens (Lawrence). 



The occurrence of this flycatcher along the ditches near Fresno late in May 

 each season would seem to indicate rather late migration, later than that of any 

 other bird of which I have records. After a brief sojourn lasting hardly more than 



