THE OOLOGIST 



with trepidation, for another visit later 

 disclosed the fact that the nest was 

 deserted. Another nest of this same 

 species in a plum tree in our back 

 yard, about 25 feet from the house, 

 was filled with four beautiful eggs, 

 and the mother could be seen from the 

 ground on the nest. One day we 

 missed her, and as the nest was not 

 occupied again we concluded that 

 some cat must have taken her from 

 the nest. Eventually the eggs disap- 

 peared, but we could find no trace of 

 shells. 



This season we found two nests 

 which were the "lowest down" of any 

 of these varieties we have ever found. 

 One was that of an American Crow, 

 built in a button willow tree about ten 

 feet from the ground, in a field prob- 

 ably a mile from the nearest house. 

 The other was that of a Western Red 

 Tail, built in a paradise tree, which 

 stood in a field along side of several 

 others, and this nest was about 15 

 feet up. 



During our rambles we discovered 

 the first Baltimore Oriole on April 19. 

 These beautifully colored members of 

 our birdland nest in this vicinity, usu- 

 ally in colonies in cottonwood or pop- 

 lar trees, though another favorite 

 place is the willows that border our 

 irrigation ditches or an old deserted 

 orchard. They invariably hang their 

 neatly woven nest of horsehair on the 

 outmost and frailest limbs that they 

 can find. 



About April 23d we found the nest 

 of a Wren, ready for the lining. This 

 was situated in a cavity in a large 

 willow tree where a big limb had been 

 blown off in times gone by, and this 

 had rotted and the heart of the limb 

 had been cleaned out after rotting, 

 making an ideal place for such a fam- 

 ily, having a nice roomy abode inside 

 with a small opening, the only draw- 

 back being its proximity to the ground. 



being situated not more than three or 

 three and a half feet from the ground. 

 About this same time, on this same 

 stream, we found the nest of a West- 

 ern Bluebird in an old Woodpecker 

 hole in a willow tree, about nine feet 

 from the ground. 



It is about this time that the Road 

 Runner starts housekeeping, also, and 

 we found on this same trip a nest 

 just completed, and containing one 

 egg. It was built on an old fallen tree, 

 and was only about five feet up, in a 

 fork of a limb projecting from the 

 fallen tree. This bird is frequently 

 seen around here on the open country 

 stretches, but does not come in near 

 the more thickly settled parts. It 

 makes a pretty sight when it gets a 

 start ahead of you in the road and 

 leads off. When you crowd it too 

 closely with a machine it will sud- 

 denly turn into a field, and throwing 

 its tail up in the wind, make a quick 

 stop, raising the feathers on top of 

 its head while it views its follower 

 with curiosity. They are not very wild 

 as no one ever molests them. 



During the past summer we have 

 observed here the following birds, 

 which are listed as we saw them, and 

 not in the order in which the cata- 

 logue is made up: Mocking Bird, 

 Western Meadowlark, Mourning Dove, 

 English Sparrow, Bullock's Oriole, 

 California Shrike, Barn Swallow, 

 Phoebe, Tree Swallow, Burrowing Owl, 

 Brewers Blackbird, Cow Bird, Red- 

 wing Blackbird, Yellow Headed Black- 

 bird, Western Red Tail Hawk, Black 

 Crowned Night Heron, Great Blue 

 Heron, California Jay, Crow, Willow 

 Goldfinch, Arkansas Goldfinch, House 

 Finch, Western Bluebird, Lazuli Buntr 

 ing. Road Runner, Red Shafted 

 Flicker, Arkansas Kingbird, Kingbird, 

 Western Horned Lark, Screech Owl. 

 Sparrow Hawk, Coot, Canvas Back 

 Duck, Mallard Duck, Black Necked 



