THE OREGON NATURALIST, 

 Audubon's Warbler. 



33 



(dendroica auduboni.) 



READ AT THE THIRD ANNUAL MEET- 

 ING OF THE N. O. A., AT SHLEM, 

 OREGON, BY REY STRYKER, 

 OF MILWAUKIE, ORE. 



This is one of the most common 

 warblers in this part of the state, be- 

 ing a resident from eaily spring till 

 late in the fall. My experience with 

 this species has been mostly in the 

 nesting season when I have had little 

 difficulty in locating nests and study- 

 ing their habits. Although very shy 

 and cautious at times when you are 

 near the nesting place, by remaining 

 quiet you can soon see they are not 

 alarmed by your presence, and if you 

 have patience, which every ornithol- 

 ogist should have, you will learn 

 something to your advantage. 



The female is much lighter than 

 the male and the yellow throat and 

 rump are not visible while she is fly- 

 ing. During the nesting season she 

 is very busy from early dawn until 

 late at night, always chirping and 

 never seeming to tire of the work that 

 is before her. When in search of ma- 

 terial she is always followed by her 

 mate, although he, like many other 

 male birds, never seems to assist her 

 in any way. 



After a good place for a nest is 

 found she begins by bringing small 

 twigs and fine bark froiu the ground; 

 alter a good foundation has been made 

 of this she next selects fine grasses, 

 hair and other material for the body 

 of the nest, then shjg is ready for the 



lining and fancy work. For this she 

 goes to the barnyard where she selects 

 the best and prettiest feathers. I have 

 always found the nest of this bird 

 lined with feathers, and it is a pecu- 

 liar fact that this bird always fixes 

 some of the feathers so that they arch 

 over at the top of the nest and make 

 a fine covering for the eggs and young 

 while the mother is absent and a 

 splendid protection from the weather. 

 I have always found the Audubon 

 Warbler to be one of the earliest 

 builders, finding their nests in March 

 and April. 



One nest I found last year was 

 placed at the end of a large limb 

 about seventy feet from the ground. 

 Another was in a very large fir fully 

 one hundred and twenty feet up. I 

 could not see the nest distinctly but 

 saw the bird go to it several times 

 with material. A third nest was on a 

 small liiub, but so situated that it 

 could be reached from another tree. Of 

 the nests I found last year they were 

 at an average of thirty to fifty feet 

 from the ground. 



The eggs, which are from three to 

 five in number, are of a pale green or 

 blue color, thickly speckled and 

 spotted on the larger end with dark 

 brown and lilac gray. 



The horses working at the placer 

 mine under the shadow of Pilot Knob, 

 Pluiuas County, California, wear 

 snow shoes. The altitude of the place 

 is 5500 feet and the snow at times is 

 20 feet deep. The shoe consists of a 

 thin steel plate eight inches in diam- 

 eter, through which are holes for calks 

 on the ordinary shoe. The plate is 



