Cbe OTarbler 61 



Several writers, and even as good an authority as Davie, claim that 

 there is a difference in the eggs of the two species, but from a long string of 

 sets which have come under my observation I am unable to agree to this. 

 To my mind they are absolutely indistinguishable, especially a few days 

 after being blown, when the eggs of both species fade considerably, becom- 

 ing a pale, washed-out blue, instead of the deep green they possess when fresh- 

 ly laid. 



In common with all small eggs, for these are but a trifle larger than 

 those of the California Bush-tit, they are very fragile and the work of pre- 

 serving them must be very carefully done. Three sets of each species, four 

 eggs in each set, mostly recently obtained, are dated from May 8 to July 2, 

 and this seems to be about the range of their nesting. 



While on a trip in the desert region of California a few years ago I saw 

 only a very few of these birds on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevadas and 

 none at all out on the real desert itself. There are many birds on the great 

 sandy plain however, and I hope, at some future date, to be able to tell you 

 some interesting things concerning them. 



Harry H. Dunn. 



