THE OOLOGIST 



221 



faithful and patient gunning on the 

 part of the gunners, one sportsman 

 was fortunate enougli to secure one 

 of the much desired birds on Novem- 

 ber 18, 1909, which is now being 

 mounted by a taxidermist. Tlie bird 

 Avas pure white with a few brown 

 feathers on the head, tlie left wing 

 had a brown blotch upon it, which 

 covered about one-half of that mem- 

 ber; also a few brown feathers on the 

 right thigh and tail. The upper part 

 of the bill was white and lower half 

 black, feet pink. It was a very beau- 

 tiful bird. The other bird is said to 

 be entirely pure white. 



EUGENE KEITHLEY. 



Notes on the Birds of California. 



I was thinking that possibly a few 

 of my notes on some of our Califor- 

 nia Birds might interest the readers 

 of THE OOLOGIST. 



March 8, 1908, I found a nest of the 

 Western Horned Owl (Bubo Virgin- 

 ians pallescens), placed in a tall syc- 

 amore tree thirty-flve feet from the 

 ground. The nest extended through 

 a hole in the tree four feet with the 

 entrance a foot and a half in diameter. 

 The nest part of it consisted of bones, 

 straw, leaves, bits of hair scattered 

 here and there, and a few feathers. 

 This great bird has nested here for 

 two consecutive seasons. On mount- 

 ing to the nest I found it to contain 

 three eggs of a whitish color. 



April 8, 1908, I found a Burrowing 

 Owl's (Cunicularia Hypogaea) nest, 

 placed snugly away down a squirrel's 

 hole about three feet down, running 

 under the outer coat of the earth. It 

 contained five eggs of a whitish color. 

 The eggs measured (average) : 1.24x 

 1.03. The Burrowing Owls are as cute 

 as any one of the owl family. They 

 will sit in pairs at the entrance of 

 their hole and talk in low, murmuring 



tones. While flying over the meadows 

 and hills they are pleasing to the 

 sight of any Bird Naturalist. 



May 11, 1908, I collected a set of 

 four eggs of the Cooper Hawk (ac- 

 cipiter Cooperi). They were of a 

 light blue color, and but faintly spot- 

 ted with brown. The nest being plac- 

 ed in a live oak thirty feet from the 

 ground. I think it was an old crow's 

 nest. Three eggs averaged 2.06x1.62. 

 This little falcon is the most common 

 of our small hawks except the De- 

 sert Sparrow Hawk, that we have 

 nesting in our country. He stirs up 

 an awful racket in nesting season. 



February 20, 1908. I discovered the 

 nest of the Golden Eagle (Aquila 

 chrysaetos), in the San Gabriel Moun- 

 tains of California. This nest was 

 placed in a large Yellow Pine tree of 

 the mountains, fifty-eight feet about 

 from the ground. It was made up of 

 large sticks, lined with straw, leaves, 

 hair and feathers. Four f( t uec-p u -. 

 five feet in diameter. Oni climbing to 

 the nest I found it to contain two eggs 

 of a whitish color, light marked 

 with red. Early in the m uisr ■^'^v 

 take their morning bath in uie orook, 

 and are a beautiful bird to look up- ' 

 on, but rather a fierce one. 



May 20, 1908. I flushed up a Val- 

 ley partridge from her nest which con- 

 tained sixteen eggs. The quail, which 

 we call it, is a very common bird of 

 the West. 



May 18, 190'8 I secured a set of four 

 Scott Orioles (Icterus Parisorum). 

 They were of a light blue, marked 

 with brown and gray. They measur- 

 ed 0.96x0.68 in size. A pouch-shaped 

 nest woven of grasses, string and 

 Yucca flbre hung under Yucca plant. 



This is one of California's favorites. 

 Beautiful of color and grand in song. 

 The eggs are rather rare now at pres- 

 ent, for the bird is becoming scarce. 



June 1, 1908. I secured a set of 



