YhE NIDIOLOGISt. 



45 



a lustrous black crown patch, and a small 

 patch of yellow between the base of bill and 

 the patch on the crown. Length, 4)^ inches. 



"Mr. Arnold describes four sets of eggs 

 of the Pileolated Warbler collected by him; 

 two sets of four and one of three collected 

 May 21, 1892, and a set of three taken 

 Ma}' 23, 1891, incubation varying from 

 fresh to a few days along. Three nests 

 were taken from bunches of nettles, which 

 appears to be a favorite nesting place, and 

 the other set from a bunch of weeds. All 

 were two feet or less from the ground, and 

 composed precisel}' as described. 



"Mr. Hall states that it is tolerably com- 

 mon in summer and is known to breed about 

 Riverside, though he has taken no nests. 

 H. R. Taylor records a set of four eggs 

 taken by A. M. IngersoU at Alameda from 

 a nest in a bunch of ferns. Mr. Tay- 

 lor took a set oi five eggs this year near 

 Sargents. The Pileolated Warbler is the 

 Western representative of Wilson's Warb- 

 ler. Everything considered, the Yellow and 

 Pileolated Warblers can be said to be gen- 

 erally distributed throughout California." 



Mr. Osgood next read a paper on "Col- 

 lecting in a California Marsh, ' ' dealing with 

 the numerous birds that make marsh col- 

 lecting so pleasurable. F. A. Schneider 

 and H. R. Painton each related their ex- 

 periences with the Slender-billed Nuthatch. 

 Both stated that they had never found pitch 

 about the nesting cavities, a peculiarity 

 commonly attributed to these birds. 



The Secretary exhibited a set of runt 

 California Shrike's eggs which Ralph Ar- 

 nold had kindly sent for inspection. It is 

 composed of two eggs and was collected 

 May 13, from a nest of usual size and con- 

 struction. The eggs are extremely small, 

 but ' are well marked. They measure 

 .57X.50 and .50X.41 inches. One will ap- 

 preciate the small size upon comparing 

 these measurements with those of average 

 eggs of the Shrike. Mr. Arnold was tend- 

 ered a vote of thanks. Mr. R. C. McGreg- 

 or was present and responded to a call for 

 a speech. He gave an entertaining talk of 

 how ornitholog}' was represented at the 

 World's Fair. 



The names of H. Hall, Ralph Arnold 

 and R. C. McGregor were oflfered for mem- 



bership. They were elected. The Club's 

 membership is now fifteen. 



Following is the programme for the meet- 

 ing Saturday evening, November 4 (to be 

 held at H. R. Painton's residence at Col- 

 lege Park): Lutescent Warbler, H. R. 

 Painton ; Black-throated Gray Warbler, 

 Ralph Arnold; Western Yellowthroat, H. 

 M. Hall; paper, "The Gray-crowned Leu- 

 costicte, " Cory Chamberlain; paper, Geo. 

 Chamberlain; paper, "Rocky Mountain 

 Screech Owl," R. C. McGregor. All mem- 

 bers will please send their observations as 

 soon as possible on the Warblers under 

 consideration. C. Barlow, Secretarv. 



QUEER PLACES FOR QUAILS' EGGS. 



The article by Mr. Cohen in the Septem- 

 ber NiDiOLOGiST on "Quail's Eggs in a 

 Turkey's Nest," called to my mind two 

 peculiar instances of this kind which have 

 come under my observation. On the 20th 

 of May last, while collecting in the foot- 

 hills east of San Jose, I flushed a female 

 Towhee (proba])ly Pipilo ■ maailatiis mega- 

 hviyx) from her nest on the ground, which 

 I found to contain two young of the Towhee 

 and one ^<g% of the California Partridge. 

 I took the ^^^ and found it to be slightly 

 addled and evidently infertile. 



This instance is not nearly so remarka- 

 ble, however, as one noted by a friend of 

 mine a few weeks later. He found a nest 

 of the Russet-backed Thrush, which was 

 situated in a tree nearly ten feet from the 

 groicnd, and which contained three eggs of 

 the Thrush and three of the California 

 Quail, all of which were considerabl)* in- 

 cubated. The Quail's eggs were placed on 

 top of the Thrush 's and nearly filled the nest. 



It does not seem incredible for a Quail to 

 lay in a nest somewhat similar to its own, 

 like a Turkey's or even a Towhee 's, which, 

 at least, is on the ground; but for it to leave 

 the ground, its natural resting place, and 

 lay its eggs in a cavity of a tree or iu the 

 nest of a small bird like a Thrush, ten feet 

 from the ground, is indeed quite remark- 

 able. Wilfred H. Osgood. 



