108 A-BIRDING ON A BRONCO. 



warm, I guess ; " while the other suggested, " So 

 the eggs would n't break." Most of the feathers 

 were small, but there must have been several 

 dozen chicken's feathers from two to three inches 

 long. Among them was a plume of an owl. 



Much to my surprise, in the bush-tit's nest 

 there was a broken eggshell. Had the egg broken 

 in falling, or had a snake been there? One of 

 the boys of the valley told me about seeing a 

 racer snake go into a bush-tit's pocket. The cries 

 of the birds rallied several other pairs, and they 

 all flew about in distress, though not one of them 

 dared touch the dreadful tail that hung out of 

 the nest hole. As the snake was about three feet 

 long, the pocket bulged as it moved around' inside. 

 There were four nestlings about a quarter grown, 

 and the relentless creature devoured them all. 

 The boy waited below with a stick, and when it 

 came out, killed it and shook it by the tail till 

 the small birds popped out of its mouth. If my 

 broken eggshell pointed to any such tragedy, it 

 cleared the birds of the accusation of being poor 

 builders. 



The nest, which the first day was a filmy spot 

 in the leaves, by the next day had become a 

 gray pocket over eight inches long, although I 

 could still see daylight through it. In working, 

 the birds flew to the top of the open bag and 

 hopped down inside. I could see the pocket 

 shake and bulge as they worked within. When 



