200 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NOKTII AMERICAN BIRDS. 



nest was quite fierce, and although she did not actually strike the man who 

 climbed to it, she came several times very close to him, uttering shrill 

 screams of anger and protest. While stationed at Camp Harnev, Oregon, 

 with the assistance of woodchoppers and Indians, several of their nests were 

 found, none nearer than '2 miles from each other. One, found on May 

 2G, 187f>, contained two young just hatched and an egg already chipped. 

 It was in a duster of pines a few miles northeast of the post. Both parents 

 were exceedingly aggressive, and several shots fired close to them did not 

 seem to intimidate them in the least I could have easily killed both, but 

 refrained on account of the young. Only one of the birds was in the adult 

 plumage. 



A nest found on April 18, 1876, was placed in the top of a tall and bushy 

 juniper tree, only about 20 feet from the ground. It was not as large as the 

 two former, and looked as if it had been newly built. It was situated in a 

 fork of the main trunk and was well hidden. The female was on the nest 

 and commenced screaming before we came within 20 feet of the tree, which 

 caused the discovery. She defended her eggs valiantly, and did not cease 

 her attacks on the climber till he finally succeeded in hitting her with a 

 club, which caused her to leave. The male was not seen. The nest con- 

 tained three slightly incubated eggs, and was sparingly lined with the dry 

 inner bark of the juniper trees growing in the vicinity. On April 9, 1877, 

 I found another nest not. far from where the first was taken in 187,5. This 

 was built in a tall pine, at least 50 feet from the ground, and in addition to 

 the usual juniper bark lining it contained a few green fir tops. This also 

 contained three eggs, and incubation had already commenced. I shot the 

 female, a handsome bird in the adult plumage, while it was circling about 

 the climber and trying to strike him. The largest set obtained was one of 

 five eggs. The nest was placed in a bushy pine in a canon of the Blue 

 Mountains, close to the road from the Umatilla Indian Agency to Grande 

 Ronde Valley, Oregon. This nest, evidently used for years, was Avell out on 

 one of the larger limbs and placed in a fork of it. It was quite large, and 

 slightly lined with grass, tree moss, "usnea," and a few scales of pine bark; 

 distance from the ground about 50 feet. Both parents were present, and the 

 female was shot, as she was too aggressive for the comfort of the climber. 

 The male was also rather demonstrative, but not to the extent of his mate. 

 The eggs were nearly hatched when found, April 17, 1881. All the cavities 

 of the nests were very shallow, none being over 1 inches deep. While none 

 of the nesting sites were in the denser portions of the forests, they were all 

 found in the heavy timber, and generally on the slopes of canons not far from 

 water. 



A pair of these birds bred within a mile or so of Fort Klamath, Oregon, 

 in the spring of 1883, but I never succeeded in locating the nest on account 

 of the dense timber found all around the post and the large size of most of 

 the trees. Both birds, but especially the male, a handsome specimen in the 



