The Avifauna. 



21 



in a white oak which held six young ap- 

 parently just hatched. The parent birds 

 did not make their appearanc at all, though 

 several adult birds were seen feeding on a 

 bog a short distance away. Three weeks 

 later I visited this nest with the intention 

 of placing two of the young birds in mj' col- 

 lection. The tree was duly climbed but the 

 birds had flown and I was about to decend 

 when a glance into the tree top brought to 

 view the young Magpies sitting contentedly 

 in a group. They had not made a sound or 

 movement which I could detect while I was 

 climbing about in the tree. Cautiously 

 advancing upon the group I made an attempt 

 to catch one but the}- were all on the alert 

 and fluttered out of reach. After several 

 unsuccessful attempts I resorted to a small 

 charge of dust shot and secured two inter- 

 esting specimens. The}- are precisely the 

 same in plumage as the adult birds, though 

 not as bright and with scarcely any tail 

 feathers. 



The small colony on the hill was again 

 visited but aside from a few fresh eggs and 

 one nest containing young (which had been 

 overlooked on the previous visit) there was 

 nothing interesting to note. Two of the old 

 nests had been taken possession of by Desert 

 Sparrow Hawks and a beautiful set of five 

 eggs was collected. 



April yth was billed for a trip to a well- 

 known colony of Magpies so the writer and 

 friend were out on the road before day-break, 

 one riding a horse and the other propelling 

 his " silent steed." The oft-told beauty of 

 a California sunrise was witnessed as we 

 journeyed along the tortuous road amid the 

 hills. Finally we travelled up a creek well 

 wooded with sjxamores, in which we were 

 informed Magpies were nesting. Unfortun- 

 ately, as it afterwards proved, we had taken 

 the wrong trail and after walking for several 

 hours over the hills beneath the scorching 

 sun, a number of nests were found in the 

 sycamores bordering a small stream. Most 

 of them were inaccessible, being placed far 

 out on some small limb of the tree at a con- 



siderable height. A few were climbed to 

 but all were empt}', having been recently 

 lined. One nest held five eggs but was just 

 out of reach on a small limb. The Magpies 

 could be heard in the scrub oaks on the hill- 

 side and a few were observed hopping about 

 on a marshy spot. They seem to feed largely 

 upon worms and grubs, though I am told 

 that they are incessant nest-robbers and do 

 not despise young birds for food either. 



As the afternoon crept on it dawned upon 

 us that we had missed the rookery for which 

 we were searching and threading our way 

 out to the road once more, we followed it 

 for perhaps half a mile when we came upon 

 the much-sought colony. The white-oaks 

 in the field held each from one nest upward, 

 though many were old structures. Our 

 earlier efforts had told upon us and after 

 facing several of the climbs and being en- 

 couraged onl}' with empty nests we retired. 

 Thus it was that through one little mistake 

 we missed an interesting day, but experience, 

 while often severe, is nevertheless a profit- 

 able teacher. Future trips may prove pleas- 

 anter, though we must confess that our 

 spirits were consoled b}' the satisfaction that 

 we had robbed no poor bird of her treasures ! 

 The accompanying illustration is from a 

 photograph of a mounted Yellow-billed Mag- 

 pie in mj' collection, the work of Mr. R. H. 

 Beck, who has succeeded admirably in giv- 

 ing it a natural and pleasing position. 



C. Bari^ow. 



Santa Clara, Cal. 



The Sept. Avifauna presents a very neat ap- 

 pearance and shows up well. It would seem 

 that there is a good field for it and you have 

 my best wishes for its success. 



C. Barlow, 

 Santa Clara, Cal. 



Copy of Avifauna received. Am pleased 

 with its originality. Find amount for subscrip- 

 tion. Actions speak louder than words. 



\V. S. CoBLEiGH, Los Angeles, Cal. 



Enclosed please find one dollar bill for one 

 years subscription to Avifauna. She is simply 

 immense and I am more than pleased with it. 

 Success and long life. LEE Chambers, Santa 

 Monica, Cal. 



