74 



THE NIDIOLOGIST. 



COOPER ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 



The monthly meeting of December 2 was 

 held at San Jose. The discussion of the 

 Warblers of California was resumed. Mr. 

 Osgood first spoke on the Long-tailed Chat. 

 It was generally distributed throughout 

 the State, and had been found nesting at 

 Riverside by Mr. H. M. Hall. It is fond of 

 brubhy streams, where its song attracts one 

 to the dense growths of vines and under- 

 brush, in which its nest is usually placed. 

 Mr. Osgood had taken a set of four fresh 

 eggs on May 30, 1892, from a nest placed 

 in a maple bush four feet from the ground. 

 Mr. Cory Chamberlin had found them nest- 

 ing on the Llagas creek in considerable 

 numbers. 



F. A. Schneider spoke pn Audubon's 

 Warbler. The summer plumage is taken 

 on about March 15 and is much lighter 

 than the winter plumage. It is very com- 

 mon in this State in the winter months as 

 it flits about in the tree- tops in search of 

 insect food, and is brought to notice by its 

 sharp "chit." Small insects and worms 

 constitute its food. Its favorite nesting 

 place appears to be at high altitudes, such 

 as the Sierra Nevada, where it nests in 

 coniferous trees, the nest being placed in a 

 bunch of dense foliage. It is composed of 

 pine needles, bark, etc., the nest material 

 often varying to match the surroundings. 

 Nearly fledged young were seen by Dr. 

 Cooper in September. The eggs are four 

 to five, and rese uble tho.se of the Yellow 

 Warbler. 



An article from L. W. Brokaw on the 

 Red-bellied Hawk was read, based on ob- 

 servations in the Salinas Valley. While 

 out on March 26, on a visit to a Heron 

 rookery, his attention was drawn to a 

 Hawk's ne.st in a cottonwood, and which 

 was found to contain green oak leaves. A 

 set of three eggs was taken from it April 

 29, incubation begun. The nest measured 

 24 inches across, and was 47 feet from the 

 ground, composed of .sticks and lined with 

 moss and bark of the cottonwood. It was 



also covered with soft white feathers from 

 the breast of the female. The eggs meas- 

 ure 2.42x1.73; 2.31 X 1.78 ; 2.24x1.67, 

 The ground color is cream}' white, and two 

 of the eggs are boldh- splashed with umber 

 brown and lilac, while the third has a light 

 brown wreath about the smaller end. April 

 13 a set of two was taken from a nest in a 

 sycamore, but were replaced, as they were 

 about to hatch. One was unmarked and 

 the other lightly with yellowish-brown 

 spots. In this case also green oak leaves 

 were found in the nest, which it would 

 seem is a characteristic of the bird. 



An entertaining article on the "Water 

 Ouzel at Home" was read by Cory Cham- 

 berlin. It related his experience with the 

 bird in this county and in Colorado. On 

 March 29 of this year, while making a trip 

 up Ralston Creek in Colorado, he discov- 

 ered a nest of the Ouzel in course of con- 

 struction on a shelf of rock about a foot 

 above the water. On April 15 he again 

 visited it and found the nest complete. 



Mr. Oscar P. Silliman was elected to 

 membership in the Club. 



The January meeting was held the 6th 

 instant at San Jose. 



Mr. Gaylord of Pasadena described the 

 habits of the Phainopepla in a well-written 

 paper. The earliest set of eggs recorded 

 by him was May 20, '93, and the latest July 

 3, '92. A paper on the "Nesting of the 

 White-Faced Glossy Ibis," by A. M. 

 Shields, was read. Articles on the Golden 

 and Bald Eagles were read. The nomina- 

 tion and election of officers followed, re- 

 sulting as follows: 



President, F. A. Schneider; Vice-Pre.si- 

 dent, H. R. Taylor; Secretary, C. Barlow; 

 Treasurer, H. R. 0.sgood, Dr. A. C. Mur- 

 chison of Colton and Jos. Grinnel of Pasa- 

 dena were elected to membership. 



The programme for the meeting February 

 3d, at College Park, is as follows: Western 

 Robin, Mr. Schneider; Varied Thrush, Mr. 

 Osgood; Paper, C. Barlow; Paper, Terns 

 and Plovers in California, Mr. Sillman; 

 Paper, Mr. Clark. C. Barlow, Sec'y. 



