A.A.O Ray, Fortnight on the Farallones. \_o^ 



account of their depredations on the island hennery, no birds of 

 this species, according to the lighthouse crew, have been seen. 



13. Carpodacus mexicanus frontalis. House Finch. 



It was a surprise to us on arising the second day, to hear the 

 loud cheerful whistle of the House Finch perched on the peaked 

 roof of our dwelling, for somehow during the excitement of our 

 first day among the great bird shows we had overlooked the 

 presence of this species, several pairs of which, for the first time, 

 were nesting here and challenging the Rock Wren's long-defended 

 title of being the island's only song bird. Were it not for the 

 grove of friendly evergreens, where these birds would have nested 

 is a puzzle. One nest, which held five eggs in May, was closely 

 made of island grass, with an occasional feather intermixed, and 

 lined with bits of string, cotton and mule hair. We noted another 

 nest with a like complement just before we left. 



14. Salpinctes obsoletus. Rock Wren. 



The fluffy little Rock Wren, whether rummaging among the 

 boulders or delivering its cheery song from its granite perch, was 

 a constant companion on our daily travels, except west of the 

 Jordan where I noted it as scarce. Had it not been for the telltale 

 shells and stones which lined the pathways to the nests they would 

 have been difficult to find, for the birds usually slip off unseen 

 and m.ake a great fuss at a safe distance to mislead the searcher. 

 Whether the nest was in a niche in the cliffs, beneath a rock fence, 

 or under a granite ledge cropping out above the surface, it was 

 always placed among rocks firmly embedded and never amid 

 the loose rocks that lay scattered about on the top of the ground. 

 We found in all, including those of the year which had been 

 deserted, and those of the previous season, about twenty nests. 



On the 3d of June I excavated with a pick a winding cavity 

 that ran to a nest below a solid granite ledge near the Weather 

 Bureau station and which the children had been unable to reach. 

 In nests of this sort considerable care must be taken, as flying 

 bits of stone or falling debris are liable to destroy the eggs. 



