164 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. IO--N0. 11 



wood, from twenty to thirty feet from the ground, 

 though I found one nest in my cactus patch, higli 

 up on an upright stalk, in a dense tliicket of 

 prickly branches ; a most secure place in which to 

 rear her young. The eggs are usuallj' four in 

 number, white, with large umber brown blotches, 

 thickest on the large end, measuring l.OOx. TO, and 

 are laid during June and early July. 



The Canon Towhee usually places its nest 

 of soft, fine grass, in the branches of the 

 cactus, from eighteen inches to three feet from 

 the ground, though occasionally some low bush 

 furnishes it with a resting place. The eggs, from 

 two to four in number, measure .0O.\75, and are 

 of a bluish-white, thickly spotted and blotched 

 with brown and lilac. One nest that I found this 

 season was built upon the old nest of a Mocking- 

 bird in a Bo.x Alder, some six feet from tlie 

 ground, and contained four eggs, incubation well 

 advanced. Aside Irom the foundation structure 

 the nest was a typical one. Nesting commences 

 in M.ay and continues into June, though I am in- 

 clined to think that but one brood is reared. 



Of a near relative, the Spurred Towhee, I have 

 found but few nests and these in June. With but 

 one exception thej' were upon the ground near 

 the root of a tree or bush. The nest spoken of 

 was in a bunch of " wire grass," which raised it a 

 foot or little more from the ground, and was com- 

 posed of the coarse stalks of the " wire grass" 

 lined with finer grasses. It contained three eggs 

 .!)0x.75, greyish white, with fine reddish mottling. 



June 3d, a Black-throated Sparrow, flying from 

 a C'actHS, disclosed the resting place of its nest, a 

 dainty structure of fine grass, lined with a few 

 horse hairs, some four feet from the ground, and 

 containing four bluish-white eggs .70x.45. Several 

 other sets were taken during the month, one from 

 a giant Soapwe3d and one from a bunch of "wire 

 grass"; the eggs from three to four in number. 



Early in.the morning of >Iay 11th I started for 

 the foot hills at the base of the Continental Divide 

 anticipating a long and busy day among the 

 birds. Nor was I disappointed, for aside from se- 

 curing a well filled bag of desirable specimens, I 

 discovered the nesting places of a number of my 

 feathered acquaintances. 



First from a hole, some twenty-five feet from 

 the ground, in the dead trunk f)f an Oak flew a 

 female Harris's Woodpecker. A climb brought 

 me to the opening, only to find from the loud 

 twittering within that I was too late to secure 

 the eggs and that the nest was inhabited bj' young 

 birds. A little later in the day, while eating my 

 lunch near a spring in the woods, my attention 

 was attracted by a female Humming bird, which 

 alighted on an overhangina: branch of an Oak 



sappling some fifteen feet from the ground. Ob- 

 serving it carefully, I soon discovered that it was 

 at work upon a nest, attaching bits of lichens to 

 the outside. She soon discovered me, and fearing 

 that she might abandon the nest, if disturbed, I 

 moved to some little distance and left her to her 

 work, intending to visit her again at a later daj-. 



But a short distance from the spring stood a tall, 

 half dead Oak, and high up in its liranchlcss 

 trunk from a small o]icning protruded the gaylj- 

 banded head of a California Woodpecker, indicat- 

 ing that .she had a nest within. But it was far 

 out of my reacli, and reluctantly I pa.ssed on. 



A Wollweber's Titmouse, darting about among 

 the branches of a Juniper tree next attracted my 

 attention and I was raising my gun with the in- 

 tention of adding it to the contents of my bag, 

 when, seizing some insects in its bill, it flew to a 

 neighboring Oak and disappeared. A few mo- 

 ments observation served to show me that Woll- 

 weber and his mate were busy carrying insects 

 into a small hole, apparently a deserted Wood- 

 pecker's nest, some twenty feet up on the trunk 

 of the Oak, presumably to supply the wants of a 

 family of small Wollwebbers. And voracious 

 appetites they must have had, judging from the 

 number of times that the parent bird passed into 

 and out of the hole during the ten minutes that I 

 watched them, carrying with them each time some 

 temptmg morsel. To reach the nest promised a 

 hard scramble and as I am not as good a climber 

 as in my younger days, before the harsh east 

 winds of New England played sad havoc with 

 my lungs, I was forced to confine my observations 

 to the ground. 



( )ne week later I returned to look at my Hum- 

 mingbird's nest, but found the female still at 

 work upon it. Now, however, the outside was 

 completed and she was busily engaged in lining 

 it. I had abundant opportunity to watch her 

 lying upcm the ground under an adj.acent tree, for 

 she paid but little attention to me, though fully 

 aware of my presence. Flying to the branch 

 with some flossy material she would alight upon 

 it for a minute, then entering the nest would place 

 the floss in position with her bill, pressing it down 

 into place, then she would whirl around five or 

 six times, pressing against the sides of the nest 

 with her breast, evidently adjusting the inside to 

 her form. This operation was repeated many 

 times while I watched her and I was congratu- 

 lating myself that at my next visit I should .se- 

 cure a fine set of eggs. At no time during ni}' 

 watch did I see the male, but from my observa- 

 tion of the female think that it was tlie Broad- 

 tailed Hmnmingbird, but cannot be positive. 



