1880. | BENpDiIRE on the Nest and Eggs of Clarke's Nutcracker. 231 
now that their nests were across the valley, half a mile away. I spent 
more than two weeks in this fruitless search, returning every night to 
camp, tired and disappointed. Any one who has tramped over moun- 
tains, in the light air of gooo feet elevation, will understand how exhaust- 
ing such labor is; but I particularly wished to get the eggs of this bird, 
was sure they were nesting in the neighborhood, and did not like to give 
itup. One evening, after a particularly hard day’s work, as I sat by my 
campfire, looking up the valley, one of these birds left the high timber 
and flew across to the other side. Its direct and silent flight suggested 
that it might be going to its nest, and that I had been looking in the 
wrong locality. Accordingly, with renewed hope, I started early next 
morning to the hill where I had seen it go. Afterclimbing over the rocks 
and through the bushes for some time I sat down to rest, when I noticed 
something on a tree about thirty feet away that looked more like a squir- 
rel’s nest than anything else. On closer inspection, however, I saw that 
it was a bird’s nest, and climbing up a short distance, was delighted to find 
a Clarke’s Crow sitting on its nest. She sat very close, only leaving when 
touched by my hand. The nest was built near the end of a horizontal 
limb, about ten feet from the ground, in an open, conspicuous situation. 
It was bulky, coarsely constructed, and very deeply hollowed, the bird 
when on it showing only part of her bill and tail, pointing almost directly 
upward. She was soon joined by her mate, when, after hopping about in 
a listless manner for a few minutes, both disappeared. They were silent 
when near their nest, but noisy enough elsewhere. On further search I 
found several old nests and one new one, apparently abandoned. All 
were similar in construction and situation to the one described, and evi- 
dently belonged to the same species. The nest with young was found 
May 21. From finding these nests, and from other observations made, I 
am satisfied that Clarke’s Crow breeds in open, warm situations, prefer- 
ring steep hillsides; had I known this earlier I believe that I should 
have found more of their nests.” 
My personal observations of this species were published most 
fully in the April and May numbers of the ‘ Ornithologist and 
Odlogist, Vol. VII, 1882, and extracts therefrom read as follows: 
‘* For some reason not easily explained I had come to an almost posi- 
tive conclusion that Clarke’s Crow nested in hollow trees, and as they act 
in many respects like certain of our Woodpeckers and frequented the 
juniper groves fully as muchas the pine timber this seemed plausible 
enough* ‘The finding of several young birds of this species but a few 
days out of their nest on May 5, 1875, sitting on the branchesof a large 
*It must be remembered that at that time nothing positive was known about the 
breeding habits of Clarke’s Nutcracker, excepting Mr. J. K, Lord’s account, that in the 
vicinity of Fort Colville, Washington Territory, they bred in the tops of the tallest 
pine trees, a statement which I doubted and rather favored Mr, R. Ridgway’s surmise 
of their nesting in hollow trees or stumps. 
