BIRD NOTES AFIELD 



the western kingbird, a rather rare breeder in the immediate 

 vicinity, the Oregon towhee, and probably the ash-throated 

 flycatcher, although eggs of this last species are not recorded 

 before the ninth of June. The Oregon towhee hides away her 

 nest of speckled eggs so carefully upon the ground that it is 

 exceedingly difficult to discover. The kingbird's nest is a 

 rather large affair, placed upon a limb of a tree, and con- 

 taining four or five white eggs strongly marked with brown 

 spots. The ash-throated flycatcher nests in a deserted flicker's 

 hole or in a hollow stump, and has the habit of almost invariably 

 adorning its home with the cast-off skin of a snake. The eggs 

 are buffy, heavily scrawled with brown or purplish lines. 



We have now scanned the list of breeding birds so far as 

 I have met with them about Berkeley. During the month of 

 June the work of rearing a family still continues, and in July 

 many species are busy with their second brood. It is a season 

 of intense anxiety and care to the parents, and fortunate are 

 they who escape the vigilance of cats, small boys, and other 

 plunderers. Many eggs never hatch, and many of the young 

 perish during the first days of their life. Then comes the 

 perilous first venturing from the nest on untried wings, and 

 seldom do the earnest little parents succeed in rearing an entire 

 brood. I would that we could all take a more friendly in- 

 terest in our bird neighbors, especially during this season when 

 they are drawn near to us by so many associations of family 

 love. If we could but watch them without interference we 

 would learn more than any collection of blown shells can 

 possibly teach, and especially would we learn that greatest 

 lesson of love for every creature with gentle ways upon the face 

 of the earth. 



[1181 



