150 



THE OOLOGIST 



of the motor-cycle we will run down 

 to Big Cottonwood. In thirty minutes 

 we leave the beaten path and enter 

 the heart of the woods. It is like en- 

 tering a Cathedral where sublime 

 voices are pouring out their praises to 

 God on High. Have you ever heard 

 that ethereal, spiritual song of the Au- 

 dubon Hermit Thrush at dawn? It is 

 glorious. The Mountain Song Spar- 

 row, the Willow Thrush, the American 

 Redstart, the Yellow Warbler, the 

 Black-throated Gray Warbler — these, 

 too, are greeting the morning in song. 

 We linger for a time to gather scien- 

 tific data and make observations, pro- 

 ceeding up the canyon on foot that 

 we may study the birds along the 

 way. Here we find the same species 

 and many additional ones, until we 

 reach the Alpine Lakes and coniferous 

 forests of the higher altitudes where 

 there is so much interesting bird life 

 crowded into one short season. Along 

 the rushing torrents, where the spray 

 splashes upon them, are the homes of 

 the Willow, and Audubon Hermit 

 Thrush; in the dense willows beside 

 the streams, the Robin, Mountain Song 

 Sparrow and Lazuli Bunting build 

 their nests. We hear the warning 

 cluck of a Gray-headed Junco, and 

 look under a boulder or fallen tree for 

 his setting mate; under the shelter of 

 an Indian poke weed we often take a 

 Lincoln or White-crowned Sparrow 

 unawares. In the tall pine trees the 

 Audubon Warbler, the Pine Siskin, 

 the Rocky Mountain Pine Grosbeak, 

 the Calliope and Broad-tailed Hum- 

 mers, and both the Ruby and Western 

 Golden-crowned Kinglets bring forth 

 their tiny fledglings. The sombre lit- 

 tle Western Wood Pewee, clothed in 

 gray, builds a gray nest on an old, 

 dead, gray branch of a huge aspen; 

 and so on we might continue, for there 

 are so many more interesting bird 

 homes we could visit. These few 



glimpses are but a meagre panorama, 

 of a short season afield. — From Utah- 

 Educational Review. 



Nesting of the Ruby-throated 

 Hummingbird. 



On the 12th of June of this year 

 while walking through a bit of wood- 

 land looking for Scarlet Tanager's. 

 nest where I had often heard one sing- 

 ing on previous occasions, I chanced 

 by under some oak trees, I heard a 

 humming sound above me and on look- 

 ing up, saw a female hummingbird 

 light on a limb, in her beak she held 

 some material for her nest but on see- 

 ing me she dropped this and began 

 preening her feathers. I kept perfect- 

 ly still, watching her for a short time,, 

 when off she flew so quickly (that she 

 reminded me of a huge June bug rath- 

 er than a bird) only to alight on a dead 

 limb a little farther away, back she- 

 came but would not disclose her cosy 

 little home. After a little while she 

 flew away in her bullet-like flight 

 which gave me a good opportunity to 

 move farther away and conceal my- 

 self before she returned. This time 

 I was more fortunate as she soon re- 

 turned and flew to the end of an oak 

 limb and then away. I hurried to the 

 spot and looking up could just make 

 out the nest which closely resembled 

 a small knot. Two days later I vis- 

 ited the nest and she was sitting but 

 did not disturb her, later on the 17th 

 I again returned as I wished to exam- 

 ine the nest and eggs. She quickly 

 flew off the nest and hovered in the 

 air above my head making a humming 

 sound with her wings. The nest was 

 placed on the dead outer limb of an 

 oak about one foot from the end of 

 the branches which held two white 

 eggs the size of small beans, it being 

 composed of plant down, covered on 

 the outside with lichens at a height of 

 twelve feet from the ground on the 



