178 



THE OOLOaiST 



was as untroubled and refreshing as 

 if we had been on beds of eider down. 



The next morning we got an early 

 start, here the country is mostly prair- 

 ie, occasionally a rock ledge crops out 

 of the hillside and now and then a tim- 

 ber claim varies the monotony. 



In the forenoon driving and collect- 

 ing by turns we took several sets of 

 Arkansas Kingbird and Orchard Ori- 

 ole from the timber claims. Heaton 

 took two sets of Western Nighthawks 

 from a ledge of rocks. Eggs laid on 

 the rocks. At noon we camped on the 

 south fork of the Sappa. After a 

 hearty meal, Heaton took to the rocks, 

 while I done the thickets along the 

 stream. My first take was long tailed 

 Chat, set of five in a plum bush, about 

 two feet up. Nest of grass blades, 

 bark striplings and dead leaves lined 

 with fine grass. Incubation begun. 

 Next a beautiful little basket suspend- 

 ed between small forks of a plum 

 bush about two and one-half feet up, 

 woven of soft grasses and fibers and 

 lined with hair and grass roots, yield- 

 ed its quoto, one of Bell's Vireo. On 

 entering a thicket a Western Yellow- 

 throat slipped quietly away from her 

 nest revealing five pretty speckled 

 eggs, this was indeed, a rare find, as 

 the Yellow-throated is a very rare res- 

 ident in this locality. Another set of 

 five Long Tailed Chat, and I was ready 

 to start for Dewey Lake. Heaton came 

 up just then with a hard luck story, 

 a Western Nighthawk and a Rock 

 Wren seen but no sets. 



We reached Dewey Lake at 10 p. 

 m., went to roost in an old sod house. 

 It was raining next morning, but after 

 getting out side a quart of good strong 

 coffee, we took our collecting boxes 

 and hiked for the Lake. Here a disap- 

 pointment awaited us. The Lake was 

 merely a dam across the Beaver, the 

 water was about three-quarters of a 

 jiiile long, three hundred yards wide 



and from two to four feet deep. There 

 were twelve Shovelers and nine pair 

 of Am. Coot on the water. We search- 

 ed the Lake or dam for nests, but 

 found only a few incomplete nests of 

 the Coot. But in the flags bordering 

 the edge of a small arm of the dam 

 we found another nest of the Western 

 Yellow-throat, it also contained five 

 eggs, nest built in clump of flags near 

 the waters edge, about five inches up, 

 built of bits of flag blades and lined 

 with fine grasses. The other nest we 

 found was eight inches up in a plum 

 bush, in upright and forks, built of 

 leaves and grass blades, deeply cupped 

 and lined with hair and fine grass. 

 Both sets were nearly fresh, one more 

 set was all we got at Dewey Lake. 

 One of the three Blue Grosbeak, the 

 nest was in a grape vine, three feet 

 up, well built of weed stems, bark 

 stripings and grass with a piece of 

 snake skin interwoven. The nest was 

 very different from the other Gros- 

 beak nests, instead of being a mere 

 platform as the Rose-breasted and 

 Black-headed. It was a heavy struc- 

 ture well built, deeply cupped and lin- 

 ed with fine grass. 



On the return trip Heaton took 

 three sets of Rock Wren, two of seven, 

 and one of six, all from holes in the 

 rock ledges, nests of grass and hair. 

 The entrance to the nest in each ii\- 

 stance being partly filled with bits of 

 rock. These with one of six Western 

 Meadowlark and one of five Lark 

 Sparrow spelled the finish. 



Guy Love. 

 Oberlin, Kansas. 



Birds of Spokane County, Wash. 

 Below I give a list of birds found 

 around Rockford, Washington, and vi- 

 cinity. The list may not include all 

 species found, but these given have 

 come under my notice. 



