THE OREGON NATURALIST 

 ODD NESTING SITES. 



55 



In 1895 I found a Vigor's Wren's 

 nest in Ijetween the folds of an old 

 rag carpet that was hung up on a pole 

 in an old house. 



I knew that there was a nest some- 

 where around the house, but covild 

 not find it until after the birds had 

 hatched out and flown away. 



When one day I went to move the 

 old carpet, I round the nest and it 

 had one addled egg in it. By the 

 way, I have noticed this peculiarity in 

 Vigor's Wrens. 



I have seen quite a number of their 

 nests after the young had hatched, 

 and in nearly every case there is an 

 addled egg left in the nest. 



I also found in 1895 a Parkman's 

 Wren's nest in a pair of old overalls 

 which were stuffed with straw and 

 hung up in a cherry tree as a scare- 

 crow. Here the old birds raised their 

 .seven young in peace. 



In May 1894 I went to a sand bank 

 where there was a colony of Bank 

 Swallows nesting, to collect some eggs. 

 I found one egg of this specie 

 about one foot in from the entrance of 

 an old King Fisher's nest. There was 

 no nest at all, the egg beitig laid in a 

 hollow on the bare sand. 



I once knew a Northwestern Flicker 

 to make a nest in a gate post, whete 

 somebody was passing through several 

 times each day. 



Every time the gate was opened the 

 old bird would leave the nest, but 

 .still they raised their young there. 



I also knew of a pair of this specie 

 of birds which cho.se as a nesting site 

 an old apple tree stub, onlj' two feet 



from the ground. 



They commenced excavating for the 

 next cavity April loth, Init it was a 

 very hard .stub to dig in. They 

 worked away at it until May 8th 

 when the female was killed in a dead- 

 fall which had been set for .squirrels. 

 The male still remained around and 

 worked at the nest some and called 

 for his mate a great deal, almost every 

 day until June 22d. 



When the nest .seemed to be finished 

 excavation was 19 inches deep. 



He had no mate but he .still stayed 

 around and kept calling for his mate. 

 It seemed as if he could not under- 

 stand that she was dead, but acted as 

 if he thought .she had ju.st strayed 

 away. 



It seemed strange but this bird 

 stayed here by his nest calling, all 

 summer, but he did not succeed in 

 piocuring another mate. 



A few years since a colony of Brew- 

 er's Blackbirds nested on an old straw 

 .stack near here. There were several 

 nests, .some on top and other on the 

 sides of the stack. 



I once found a Western Robin's nest 

 in a hole that had been burnt out in a 

 small fir tree about 15 feet from the 

 ground. 



A friend of mine told me that he 

 knew of a Steller's Jay making a 

 nest on a sill under a bridge. 



I know of a twine box on a binder 

 that has been used .several times as a 

 nesting site, by botli Parkman's Wrens 

 and Western Bluebiids. 



In 1897 I found a nest of the Moun- 

 tain Partridge on an old straw pile. 



I akso found a Western Laik Spar- 

 row's nest on an old straw pile. 



Ellis F. Hadlev. 



