292 The Lesser Birds of the Sierra 
downs of birdsnesting. As a rule, it has been quite impossible to 
revisit those nests (which no doubt would shortly have contained 
eggs) owing to the remote situations in which they were placed 
and my being at the time on the line of march. 
Some nests have merely a few stones below them, whilst others 
have a considerable number and others, again, a regular rough 
rubble wall built up in front of the nest. 
One of the most elaborately constructed nests I ever saw was 
built in a cavern in a big sandstone cliff. 1 was exploring some 
crags at the time and had left Colonel Irby some distance down 
below. The cavern was almost circular and about 12 ft. in diameter 
and 6 ft. in height and the walls and roof were, as is so frequently 
the case, honeycombed with small cavities, similar to those shown 
in the preceding pictures. In one of these, measuring 9 in. 
across, was this most interesting nest. Seeing what a remarkable 
one it was, I descended and induced Irby to come up and see 
it and with his aid made a careful examination of its materials. 
In front of the nest was a rough wall 9 in. long and 2} in. in 
height and of some thickness. I removed the stones composing 
it and we found they numbered 282, of all sizes from a walnut 
toa pea. We then lifted the nest out; it was built of grass and 
fibrous roots lined with the fine fibres of the palmetto. Below 
the nest was a foundation of seventy-six large stones making 358 
in all. The largest stone was 2 in. long by ? in. wide and 3 in. 
thick and weighed 2 oz. and there were many others weighing 
between 1 oz. and 2 oz. The total weight was over 4 lb. 8 oz. 
The most noticeable point was that, with the possible exception 
of a few small flakes of sandstone, all these stones had been 
carried by the bird for some distance. How such a small bird 
conveys the larger stones found in these nests is ever a puzzle to 
me. That they do carry them and bring them from a consider- 
able distance is capable of proof. Thus of late years, several 
