Ebe TOarbler 45 



WESTERN GUEE 

 {Lavas occidentalis) 



A LARGE colony of Western Gulls were daily seen on the beach at San- 

 ta Monica. They were remarkably tame and could be approached 

 within a few feet before they would take wing or retreat. At times the flock 

 would repair to some freshly-plowed fields a mile or two inland, and feed up- 

 on grubs after the manner of barnyard fowls. I am told that in this way 

 they do an immense amount of good. I also observed them some twelve 

 miles inland feeding upon the refuse of a slaughter house. 



anna's hummingbird 

 {Calypte anna) 



ANNA'S Hummer is by far the most abundant of all the Hummingbirds 

 in southern California and has a breeding season of six months, begin- 

 ning early in January. On February 20th while driving through Rustic 

 Canon, at Santa Monica, I observed a new nest upon a long, horizontal 

 branch of a dead locust. It contained two fresh eggs. Two days later I 

 spent two hours with a friend in this same canon during which time we ob- 

 served six nests of this Hummingbird. One was incomplete, and we had the 

 pleasure of seeing the bird working at it. Another nest contained two birds 

 about a day old. They were about the size of a honey bee with short, 

 broad beaks, like the young of any other bird, showing absolutely no indi- 

 cation of the long, needle-like beak of a full-fledged Hummer. All the other 

 nests contained eggs. Strange as it may seem, the nest of Anna's Hummer 

 is easily found, notwithstanding its minute size, even when placed in the 

 topmost branches of a huge sycamore. As one approaches a tree or bush 

 containing a nest the female, if at home, will most likely fly off the nest, 

 take a few circles around and return to it, thus indicating its exact location. 

 Having thus satisfied herself of the nature of the intrusion, the bird will 

 usually stick to the nest while one is climbing the tree, regardless of the 

 amount of shaking which the branches may sustain ; and in many cases the 

 bird must be actually touched, or lifted off the nest, in order to see its con- 

 tents. 



I have never observed the male bird about any of the many nests I have 

 examined. The female evidently constructs the nest and executes alone all 

 the duties of rearing the family. The male may be observed perched in a 

 conspicuous position on the top limbs of some dead tree or shrub where the 

 brilliant colors of his plumage flash and sparkle in the sunlight, and where 

 his song may be heard at short intervals. This is loud for so small a bird 

 and decidedly insect-like, and may be compared to the song of the Grass- 



