1913 BIRDS OF THE FRESNO DISTRICT 89 



above the ground, and while ridiculously easy to find when one is familiar with 

 the birds' habits, it is doubtful if anything but mere accidental discovery would 

 ever reveal the majority of nests to the chance prowler. Since only one pair of 

 grosbeaks may occupy any clump of these plants, it follows, when there are not 

 enough such sites to go around, that numerous pairs are often compelled to seek 

 other places in which to construct their homes. A second choice becoming neces- 

 sary, nests are not infrequently built in the thick bunches of small willow sap- 

 lings where, again, they bear resemblance to the work of the Bi-colored Black- 

 bird. 



It sometimes happens, too, that a pair of grosbeaks will take up their resi- 

 dence in an orchard, when they will be found nesting in a peach tree at a height 

 of from eight to twelve feet. The average height from the ground of the many 

 nests observed by the writer has been about four feet ; but at times a more ele- 

 vated situation is chosen. vSuch an instance was noted on May 30, 191 1. A stick 

 was thrown into the branches of a large willow tree, where a bird of some sort 

 could be seen occupying a nest fully twenty feet from the ground, and at the end 

 of a small horizontal branch the tip of which took an abrupt vertical turn and 

 hung out over a ditch full of water. With the characteristic "pink" a female Blue 

 Grosbeak left her nest. Early in the summer of 1905 a pair of these birds built 

 a nest about fifteen feet up, on the end of a horizontal branch of a poplar tree in 

 a yard ; so it will be seen that the bird's habits are not uniformly as terrestrial as 

 might be supposed. 



Nests of the Western Blue Grosbeak are well-made, light baskets of dry 

 grass, weed stems and rootlets, lined with black horse-hairs if such are obtainable. 

 I have yet to find a nest that did not have either a piece of paper or a dry, paper- 

 like leaf woven into the framework somewhere. Sets of three and four eggs are 

 found in about equal numbers, the time ranging from May 18 (1906) to June 23 

 ( 1901). One instance of later nesting came to my notice in 1905, when young 

 just out of the nest were seen J"ly I5- 



The song of the male Western Blue Grosbeak greatly resembles that of a 

 Linnet, but is not quite so loud nor prolonged. 



L.vzuLi Bunting. Passerina amoena (Say). 



Throughout the valley this beautiful little finch is of regular occurrence, 

 though in verv limited numbers, being far outnumbered by its near relative, the 

 Western Blue Grosbeak ; but along the foothills the reverse order of abundance 

 prevails, and the little blue bunting with the white wing-bars is most often seen. 



Berry patches and gardens are the favorite haunts of the Lazuli Bunting 

 during the few months that it is with us. T observed them in greater numbers 

 near Riverdale, July 13. 1911, than T have ever seen them elsewhere in the valley. 

 At least one pair has been known to nest for several years in a garden in the city, 

 and each year from late April until June one or two individuals have been noted 

 near Clovis. 



May 22. 1906. a nest was found among a tangle of weeds and willow shoots 

 along the Gould ditch near Tarpey. This nest was saddled on a small dead 

 branch, and supported by two or three upright green stems, a situation not unlike 

 that often chosen by the Blue Grosbeak. The composition and appearance of the 



