Oct. 1886.] 
AND OOLOGIST. 
153 


Santa Barbara, California, on April 14th, of the 
present year. The nest is described as being 
carelessly made of sticks placed in the highest 
limbs of a live oak. The following is a descrip- 
tion of the eggs, with measurements : 
No. 1. 1.73x1.27. This specimen somewhat re- 
sembles a typical egg of the Sharp-shinned Hawk, 
(Accipiter fuscus,) inasmuch as it-exhibits consid- 
erable creamy white surface. The entire larger 
end is completely covered with deep chestnut 
and small blotches of the same color are dis- 
persed over the entire egg—small flakes appear- 
ing on the white ground color. 
No. 2. 1.60x1.28. The entire egg is covered 
with a rich chocolate, and on the smaller end it 
exhibits a clouding of the same, seeming as if 
put on in daubs with a brush. 
No. 3. 1.67x1.29. This specimen almost exact- 
ly resembles some eggs of the European Kestril 
—the entire cvlor being a solid chestnut, with 
here and there a suspicion of small coal black 
spots. 
No. 4. 1.64x1.26. The creamy ground color 
is apparent on parts of the egg, beneath the 
clouding and blotching of very deep chestnut. 
No. 5. 1.61x1.28. Probably the last egg of the 
set deposited. The larger end of the egg is de- 
void of any clouding or blotching, and is a solid 
brown, in which the black marks noted in No. 3 
of this set are quite numerous. The smaller 
portion of the egg is the same color as the rest 
of the set—a rich chestnut. Altogether it isa 
very handsome set, and no two eggs are alike. 

Field Notes on Some Birds of 
Colorado. 

BY CHARLES F. MORRISON, FORT LEWIS, COL. 

As TI promised, I send you a few notes on the 
birds of this vicinity, and as an introduction I 
will give a brief description of the country, but 
first let me say that as I came here rather late, 
and having to devote a good part of my time to 
getting my headquarters in shape for a long stay, 
my trips afield have been limited. I shall not 
give my notes in any systematic order, but in the 
order I find them noted. Fort Lewis is situated 
nearly 9,000 feet above sea level, and is midway 
between the plains and the high peaks of the 
Rocky Mountains. As regards altitude, it is 
built upon a long, level stretch of country, 
through which runs the La Plata river, a moun- 
tain stream fed by the melting snows and springs, 
it abounds in trout, and this, with a species of 
“sucker,” is the only fish of all these mountain 
streams. It will be perceived that a country of 


this kind must be almost destitute of waders and 
swimmers. The vegetation is varied, large forests 
of pine flourish upon the mountain sides and 
along the river bottoms and bluffs; along the 
streams the cottonwood is the most conspicuous 
tree, together with a dwarf willow, and vari- 
ous bushes— the bulberry being very prominent. 
On the mesas the scrub oak covers the ground as 
far as the eye can reach, together with small 
patches of sage brush; the wild rose and numer- 
ous prairie flowers grow in abundance. Reptiles 
are scarce in this light, dry air, there being two 
species of snake (colwber) along the stream bot- 
toms, and the Horned Toad suns itself upon the 
dry mesas. Our common frog and toad are 
scarce. Ican,asI write, look from my south win- 
dow and see the mountains of New Mexico and 
Arizona, and by climbing the mesa to the west, 
Utah can be seen stretching away in the distance. 
It may easily be perceived that it is a place that 
does, or ought to abound in rare species, and 
where new additions to the avi-fauna of Colora- 
do may be looked for. My rarest find so far is 
the Pigmy Owl, (G@. gnoma?) breeding, which 
shall be the subject of an article at no late date. 
As to the mammals; bear, mountain lion, lynx, 
and deer are abundant, and also the mountain 
sheep, which are protected by law until 1895. 
Rats are conspicuous by their total absence. The 
familiar chipmunk is plentiful and grows larger 
than in the east. A few species of gophers com- 
plete the list. To save time and space I omit 
numbers, but will begin my notes with the fa- 
miliar 
Robin, (M. migratoria). Common, _ breeds 
abundantly everywhere. Two broods are raised, 
the second about the last of June or first of July. 
Broad-tailed Hummer, (J. Jaterastris). Very 
common ; breeds abundantly. Have not taken 
its nest. Two broods are raised. This pretty 
Hummer is seen in countless numbers during a 
short walk, and it is the most abundant of any 
bird in this section. I have spent hours in seek- 
ing its nest, but all the little tricks which are 
used with effect on the Ruby-throat are of no avail 
here, and the giant mosquitoes (to which those of 
New Jersey do not compare,) do not make it an 
enviable work. This bird is often seen mounting 
skyward for fifty to a hundred feet, where, pois- 
ing for an instant it suddenly shoots downward 
with great velocity, only to suddenly turn as it 
nears the ground or bushes, to repeat the move- 
ment until it appears to be exhausted, when it 
perches on a dead limb of the nearest pine tree to 
rest; but before long it is at it again. I have 
seen a dozen of these birds at this amusement, (?) 
for amusement it seems to be to all appearances. 
