86 



THE OOLOGISl 



a dead branch of a tree immediately 

 across the road from the Screecli 

 Owl's hole. We looked on the other 

 side of the tree and found a hole con- 

 taining five eggs. 



Five or six miles on we found a 

 set of three fresh Vermillion Fly- 

 catchers, (Pyrocephalus rubineus 

 mexicanus). The nest was situated 

 on the extreme end of a dead branch 

 and was very shaky, however we got 

 them to the ground in safety. 



When within a few miles of our 

 destination we found another set of 

 Sparrow Hawks, four eggs, fifteen 

 feet up in a dead cottonwood stump. 



We reached the border of the des- 

 ert by dusk and spent the night there 

 by an irrigation canal. This section 

 abounds in snakes and numerous var- 

 ieties of lizards so we brought fold- 

 ing cots with us. We awoke the next 

 morning at daylight and were under 

 way by six o'clock. A friend from a 

 nearby ranch accompanied us' through 

 tlie day. He knew nothing about bird 

 eggs but helped us considerably, as he 

 went horseback, and could go 

 many places where we could not in 

 ■the wagon. Our route for some dis- 

 tance lay along a row of cottonwoods. 



In a limib, six inches in diameter 

 and fifty feet from the ground, we 

 found a set of five Bairds Woodpeck- 

 er, (Dryolates scalaris lucasanus); al- 

 so two Sparrow Hawks' holes, each 

 containing the incomplete set of 

 three, one ol which was in a stump 

 not over five feet high and used as a 

 fencepost. 



Our friend now left us for a little 

 scout while we turned towards the 

 desert. He returned in about an hour 

 bringing a set of three fresh Palmer 

 Thrashers, (Toxostoma aurivirastris 

 palmeri), and stating that he saw 

 two hawks' nests in the tops of tall 

 cottonwoods, one contained young 

 birds the other young and eggs. 



Shortly after he returned we came 



across an adobe house, unoccupied. 

 Upon going over to investigate a 

 large Sparrow Hawk flew from a hole 

 between the window sill and the 

 adobe wall. The hole went in two feet 

 and contained a set of four fresh eggs: 



No Bendire Thrashers (Toxostoma 

 cinerus) were found, although, in the 

 vicinity of Phoenix they are fairly 

 common. Sets of four Palmer Thrash- 

 ers are not comnion but we succeeded 

 in getting two sets of that number on 

 that trip, and found two other sets of 

 four around Phoenix during the rest 

 of the year. 



After eating lunch we tied the 

 horses and hunted on foot for a while, 

 going in pairs, two North and two 

 South. I was with the couple going 

 North. We hunted for a long time 

 without finding anything but a set of 

 Western Mocking Birds. I do not be- 

 lieve I ever saw Partridges so plenti- 

 ful. We were flushing them all day, 

 but could find no nests, but finally 

 luck turned our way. A large female 

 fiew from a bunch of sage brush and 

 there we found a set of eleven eggs. 

 A short distance on we found a sec- 

 ond set of the Gambels Partridge, 

 (Callipepla montezumae), having 

 about as much as we could carry we 

 went back to the wagon and found 

 our companions there with a set of 

 four Palmer Thrashers and a set of 

 five Gilded Flickers, (Colaptes chry- 

 soides). During the afternoon on the 

 desert we found three sets of Phaino- 

 peplas, ( Phainopepla mitens,) in ad- 

 dition to the other eggs. 



We next turned East to the long- 

 rows of cottonwoods and there found 

 a set of three and a set of five Gila 

 Woodpeckers, (Melanerpes uropygia- 

 lis.) 



A colony of Burrowing Owls, 

 (Speotyeo cunicularia hypogea) was 

 found. We dug into three holes the 

 first two contained two eggs each. 



