^°9o?^] ^^^> ^'^"^ ^'^^^ of Lake Valley, Cal. 185 



similar in construction and material, being externally composed of 

 grasses, weed fibres, bits of bark and string, and lined with horse-hair and 

 various bird feathers. In one the brilliant jellow feathers of the Western 

 Tanager are conspicuous. This nest measures 4 inches across, the cavity 

 being 2 by il inches deep. The most interesting nest of this bird I ever 

 saw was at Echo on June 15, 1902. It was on a small dead branch hang- 

 ing from the main trunk of a giant pine, fully 75 feet up. The nest 

 and bird were so small at this great height that they could be scarcely 

 seen, and my friend Olof Heinemann, who was with me, gazed for a 

 number of minutes before he could perceive it. The female was observed 

 whirling round and round in the almost completed nest and presently flew 

 off and returned with a bit of material which was carefully placed. Few 

 can realize the time and patience required to build these, one of the most 

 beautiful of all forest bird homes. 



45. Empidonax trailli. Traill Flycatcher. — This bird is rather 

 scarce; a single nest was found July i, 1902, made of hemp fibres and 

 grasses and laced to an upright fork of a willow beside a small stream 

 near the Sierra House. It contained a single fresh egg, of the usual pale 

 buff blotcjied with reddish brown. This is the highest altitude at which 

 I have ever found this bird. At Buck's Ranch, Plumas County, elevation 

 5000 feet, I found a nest, which I collected with the parent, June 29, 1901, 

 in a willow, 3 feet up, near a small brook. It contained four eggs in which 

 incubation had just begun. The bird is evidently a late breeder, in fact, 

 in this region all the flycatchers breed late. 



46. Empidonax hammondi. Hammond Flycatcher. — Mr. Price 

 states he has observed young of this species frequently about Pyramid 

 Peak late in the summer. 



47. Otocoris alpestris merrilli. Dusky Horned Lark.— On October 

 6, 1901, Mr. Taylor collected a female at Meyer's Station, and another 

 near Lake of the Woods on October 9, at 8900 feet altitude. 



48. Pica hudsonica. American Magpie.— Common about Rowlands 

 and in thickets along streams. I found numerous nests during the month 

 of June containing full-grown young, but in most cases the young had 

 already left. The nests were rough looking structures of sticks and all 

 placed in willows from 7 to 20 feet up. 



49. Cyanocitta stelleri frontalis. Blue-fronted Jay.— Scarce on the 

 floor of the valley but abundant on mountain sides. A nest found near 

 Fallen Leaf Lake, placed on the branch of a small fir in plain view, 8 feet 

 up, contained four large young on June 15, 1901. A late nest for this 

 species was noted near Phillip's Station in a tamarack 15 feet up, which 

 contained four small unfeathered young on July 3, 1902. When about 

 the nest the jays are very quiet and drop their usual noisy ways. 



50. Nucifraga Columbiana. Clarke Nutcracker.— This bird is not 

 common in the valley, although the day we arrived, June 16, 1902, I saw 

 a large band of Nutcrackers near Rowlands, and noticed others occasion- 

 ally in the pine woods during my stay. They are abundant at high 

 altitudes, as Star Lake and Pyramid Peak. 



