THE NIDIOI.OGIST. 



141 



The Western Qnat=catcher. 



IN the Cottonwood groves in the river- 

 bed, and on the chapparral covered 

 mesas of the foot-hills, the Western 

 Gnat-catcher finds its home. There, 

 in the breeding season, on the approach of 

 an intruder, its nervous actions and plain- 

 tive, scolding cries, as it hops about amOng 

 the branches or bushes, proclaims to the 

 collector that the little cup-shaped nest is 

 not far distant. 



The nesting season in this locality ranges 

 from about April 25 to the latter part of 

 May, but I should say that the majority of 

 the eggs are laid in the first week of May. 

 The situation chosen for the nest, in bushes, 

 is usually in an upright fork, but in trees it 

 is as often in a horizontal fork or saddled on 

 to a horizontal limb at the base of a twig. 

 It is placed at the height of from three to 

 thirty feet from the ground, the lowest nest 

 I have seen being in an upright fork of a 

 bush about three feet up, and the most ele- 

 vated being saddled to a limb of a cotton- 

 wood tree about 25 feet from the ground. 



The measurements of an average nest are 

 2.3 inches inside diameter and 1.5 inches 

 deep. The nest is a closel}' woven, deeply 

 cupped affair, with the rim noticeablj^ con- 

 tracted. The "main timbers" used in the 

 construction are usually threads of soft 

 bark, and small, round grasses woven to- 

 gether until a substantial wall is formed, 

 and around this, on the exterior, cobwebs 

 are wound. 



Out of twelve nests examined last spring, 

 two were ornamented by fragments of 

 lichens bound on by the spider-webs* As 

 both these nests were in "grease-wood" 

 bushes which had more or less grey lichens 

 growing on the branches, I think the Gnat- 

 catchers instinctively placed the pieces on 

 the nest, thus blending the color of the nest 

 with that of the branches and making the 

 nest less conspicuous. 



I don't think it is usual for the Western 

 Gnat-catcher to ornament its nest in this 

 manner, though the Blue-gre}' invariably 

 does. The lining is often small, soft 

 feathers matted together, and sometimes 

 Cottonwood cotton and other soft vegetable 

 matter. In some nests the eggs are partly 

 hidden by the loose feathers used as lining. 

 Three to five eggs compose the clutch, but 

 usually four are layed. The eggs are beau- 

 ties, the ground color running from white 

 into pale blue or green; the whole egg 

 "peppered" with chestnut or reddish 



brown, and often the coloring forms a dainty 

 wreath around the larger end. They are 

 usuall}^ slightly pointed, but are sometimes 

 almost round. 



Next to the Hummingbirds' I think the 

 nest of this species is one of the most 

 beautiful of our Californian birds. 



Iv. P. WlIvLIAMS. 



Redlands, Cal. 



H. W. Davis, of North Granville, N. Y. 

 is on a collecting trip in Minnesota. 



The Field Columbia Museum, which re- 

 ceived an endowment of $1,000,000 from 

 Marshal Field, occupying the art building 

 at the World's Fair, was dedicated recent- 

 ly. The Museum is the largest in Amer- 

 ica and the completion of it has been ac- 

 complished since the close of the exposi- 

 tion. The Museum is divided into depart- 

 ments, over each of which there is a Direc- 

 tor. Mr. Henry K. Coale is the Assistant 

 Ornithologist. 



Mr. C. W. Crandall, of Woodside, N.Y., 

 is felicitating himself on adding a set of 

 eggs of Adalbert's Eagle to his collection. 

 He knows of but one other American col- 

 lector who has this species and that is rep- 

 resented by but a single egg. Mr. Cran- 

 dall 's collection now contains sets of eleven 

 species of foreign Eagle's eggs. 



The collector alwaj^s fears broken eggs 

 more than broken bones. W. B. Judson 

 writes: "I am just getting through kick- 

 ing myself 'for falling out of a tree this 

 afternoon and breaking Hutton's Vireo, 

 two out of a fine set of four, and two eggs 

 of the Black-tailed Gnat-catcher." Here 

 we have a kick which is natural and a 

 soreness which is justifiable. 



Arrival of the Russet=back. 



IN your April number Mr. E- Belding 

 says specimens are needed to prove 

 that the Russet-backed Thrush arrives 

 in the Coast range mountains before 

 May I. 



During observations in and near Alameda 

 I saw several pairs of these birds just before 

 the last week in April, and took a set of 

 fresh eggs on the i8th and a set slightly 

 incubated on the 21st of May. On Ma}' 30 

 I saw a nest with four young. 



D. A. C. 



