228 



THE OOLOGIST 



'do, and seldom going into the trees 

 ^except when disturbed or frightened. 

 They have a faint purling warble 

 which just fits in with the dripping of 

 the springs around their homes, and 

 is a fit mate for the whispering winds 

 stealing amongst the pines and down - 

 these lonely canon sides. I have never 

 heard them singing during the day, 

 and only by careful listening could I 

 hear them in the early mornings, or 

 more plentiful at eventide as the yel- 

 low sun slipped over the distant peaks. 

 They are a peaceful, shy, but wholly 

 lovable little tribe that while away 

 the warm summer times in the cool 

 shades of the mountain slopes; and 

 next to the Waxwings I know of no 

 other bird that presents such a trim, 

 spick and span appearance in the 

 breeding season. March usually sees 

 the last of them in the valleys around 

 Los Angeles, and they seldom appear 

 again much before Christmas time. 

 Breeding dates range from the middle 

 of May to late in June, and occasion- 

 ally into July, but June is a favorite 

 month. 



I haven't been able to determine 

 positively so far whether they raise 

 two broods in a season or not. Nests 

 vary greatly as to building materials; 

 some being composed entirely of small 

 tendrills and rootlets without any 

 other lining at all; others of dry 

 grasses and leaves, and some of fern 

 fronds, mosses, and lined with feath- 

 ers, etc. The eggs have a slightly 

 pinkish tinge when fresh, but are a 

 delicate bluish white, when blown, 

 sprinkled with minute specks of red- 

 dish brown and a few larger spots 

 over the surface, ringed around the 

 larger end with chestnut brown and 

 grayish lavender. They vary little in 

 different sets, and averages slightly 

 smaller than the common Song Spar- 

 row. After the young leave the nest 

 it is almost impossible to see a Junco 



of any age whatever. They scatter 

 along the pine clad slopes, and into 

 the distant ranges, keeping so close 

 to the underbrush and bushy canons 

 that after the end of July they seem 

 to have all disappeared. 

 - -I hope this year to get more com- 

 plete data on the nidification of this 

 species, particularly the number of 

 broods raised in a season; anid also to 

 make some observations as j to food, 

 etc. H. Arden Edwards. 



Los Angeles, Cal. 



The Meadowlark will be Spared. 

 The Meadowlark has been on trial 

 before the legislature this session and 

 has been put to a very severe test for 

 its life and the existence of its spe- 

 cies. The question has been whether 

 it should be outlawed and declared the 

 prey of everyone who would take its 

 life, or be spared for the good it does, 

 and it appears to win .on its merits, 

 The aesthetic side of the case has 

 been considered, the fact that the lark 

 is one of the most beautiful and joy- 

 ous of cur native birds, but it has 

 been judged on its economic value only 

 and seems to have proved its worth. 

 There can be little question but that 

 the Meadowlark is one of the best of 

 our native insectivorous birds, and in 

 proof of this the university has made 

 a thorough investigation of its habits. 

 It is conceded that it eats some grain 

 in the season, as does the Robin also, 

 but its destruction of insect pests is so 

 great, especially during the nesting 

 season — the season when insects are 

 at their worst — that it pays for its 

 slight destructive work many times 

 over. There is no greater natural 

 check on our destructive insects than 

 birds. It is nature's check on insect 

 redundancy, and their destruction can 

 only result in an enormous increase in 

 the pests that destroy our orchards, 

 our gardens and our farms. The dam- 



