THE NIDIOLOGIST. 



64 



Sparrows drowned in a horse trough. They 

 were rather young birds, the old ones be- 

 ing too smart to go where they can't return 

 from. I hoped to see all the English Spar- 

 rows in California dead, but no such luck 

 until some genius hits upon a plan to ex- 

 terminate these pests without destroying 

 the other birds. 



About dusk last July I flushed a brood 

 of Quail nearly full grown from the shrub- 

 berry in the garden. There were about 

 fifteen in this covey, and they scattered 

 among the trees, while one of the young 

 birds flew into an orange tree that grew 

 close to the house and never stopped until 

 he hit the house "bang!" A short flutter- 

 ing and a dead bird. This bird must have 

 been "rattled." 



Very often Red -shafted Flickers, Barn 

 Owls and California Mottled Owls would 

 get down into an unused chimnej' in my 

 house and crawl out where a couple of 

 bricks had been displaced, into the attic 

 and startle the inmates of the house; es- 

 pecially the Owls, at night, would make 

 nervous people think spooks were reveling 

 in the attic. They never thought of escap- 

 ing by the way they entered, and some of 

 them starved to death. I obtained some 

 fine live specimens in this manner. 



At another time I found several skele- 

 tons of the California Mottled Owl and one 

 .skeleton of the Red-shafted Flicker, the 

 red .shafts of the wing and tail feathers be- 

 ing in sufficient good preservation to iden- 

 tify the species, in a brick chimney that 

 had not been used for years. 



I have gathered specimens of the Cali- 

 fornia Brown Towhee, Spurred Towhee, 

 Rus.set-backed Thrush, Yellow Warbler, 

 Anna's Hummingbird and several others 

 that were either killed or stunned from fly- 

 ing against a window on the east side of 

 the house. None ever .struck the pane 

 while the sun's rays were upon it, nor broke 

 glass. I have seen Quail killed by striking 

 wire netting and thick glass windows near 

 the ground. 



The Sharp-shinned Hawk will pounce 



upon a full-grown Quail, and after working 

 its claws well into the victim's flesh, man- 

 age to bear it away. I rescued one last 

 winter in such a case and kept it in an 

 aviary until it recovered from the wounds. 

 Cats are always on the alert for the hen 

 Quail while brooding their eggs, and they 

 often succeed in catching them. The way 

 they do it must be to locate the sitting bird 

 and return for their prey at night. A nest 

 of partly inculiated eggs, a few small feath- 

 ers and the quill feathers chewed from the 

 wings, show that another brood of Quail 

 will be lacking for the autumn shooting. 

 The male birds seem to be considerablj- in 

 excess of the females, both from field ob- 

 servations at this period of the year and 

 from "counting heads in the game bag." 

 In the mountains coyotes, skunks, coons, 

 and other wild animals aid in the destruc- 

 tion of nesting Qu^til. 



WANTED, FOR SALE, AND TO EXCHANGE. 



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Dealers' Notices, per line .15 cents. 



Terms — Cash in advance. 



NOTE —Every Subscriber is entitled to one exchange 



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TT7ILL EXCHANGE 300 birds' eggs, birds' 

 ^ skins, and specimens of all kinds, for can- 

 celled Columbian stamps. Send stamp for price 

 list to E. M. Parker, Newell, la. 



/^ORRE.SPONDENTS Wanted.— I desire a good, 

 ^^ live Correspondent in Nevada, Arizona and 

 Washington, with view of exchanging eggs. Ad- 

 dress C. Barlow, Box 135, vSanta Clara, Cal. 



npO EXCHANGE-Skins of Snowy Plover, 

 ^ Western Sandpiper, Belding's and Large- 

 billed Sparrows, Pallid Wren Tit, etc., for native 

 or foreign species with full data. Send lists. A. ' 

 W. Anthony, 2042 Albatross street, San Diego, 

 California. 



-XTOTICE —wanted— Collectors in the Pacific 

 "^^ States in entomology, to collect cocoons, 

 butterflies, moths, beetles, and all order of insects. 

 Offer in exchange, exotic butterflies of brill ian 

 color and rare beauty; also, eggs, shells and 

 supplies. Wanted right off: 500 ceaitothus co- 

 coons. 



Prof. Carl Braun, 



Bangor, Maine, U. S. A. 



