THE NIDIOLOGIST 



167 



the Ravens came often during the time of nest 

 building, no one succeeded in getting a shot at 

 them. On windy days the birds could be seen 

 soaring high above the lighthouse with incom- 

 parable ease, now and then giving utterance to 

 one of their harsh croaks. 



I shot a Black Turnstone on the rocks near 

 the surf, and saw two others which were very 

 wary. Dissection showed that the bird shot (a 

 male) would probably not have nested this year, 

 at least on the island. A Black-throated Gray 

 Warbler was noted near one of the houses, and 

 the dried-up remains of an Arkansas Kingbird 

 were found near the beach, it having probably 



take the following from Goss's Bii-ds of Kansas: 

 " Mr. John Swinburn found a nest of the Even- 

 ing Grosbeak in a thickly wooded canyon, about 

 fifteen miles west of Springville, Apache 

 County, Ariz. The nest was about fifteen feet 

 from the ground, in the top of a small willow 

 bush on the border of a stream. It was a com- 

 paratively slight structure, rather flat, and com- 

 posed of small sticks and roots, lined with fine 

 portions of the latter. This nest contained 

 three fresh eggs, of a clear, greenish ground 

 color blotched with pale brown." I have no 

 reason to doubt Mr. Swinburn's statements, 

 having always heard of him as a careful ob- 



A YOUNG RAVEN. 



perished J for' lack of proper food. I was told 

 that over thirty Hawks had been shot during 

 the spring, when they came to the island to 

 prey upon the sea birds and -rabbits. 



Santa Clara, Cal. C. Barlow. 



Eggs of the Western Evening 

 Grosbeak. 



TflE nest of the Evening Grosbeak {^Coc- 

 cothraustes vespertina') found some years 

 ago by Mr. Fiske was not the oiily one 

 found. Furthermore, the eggs were never re- 

 moved from the nest. Having spoken a num- 

 ber of times with Mr. Fiske on the above sub- 

 ject, with his permission I have the following 

 to say: The nest was found in a small oak on a 

 side hill in Yolo County, this State, and as Mr. 

 Fiske was on official duty as guide to a party of 

 surveyors, and wishing to lose no time on dis- 

 covering the nest, he dismounted and attempted 

 to remove nest and eggs entire from the tree. 

 In doing this the eggs were broken. It was 

 then seen that the stage of incubation was so 

 far advanced that saving them by the ordinary 

 methods would have been impossible. The 

 other nest was discovered eleven years ago. I 



server in his chosen study, which is, I believe, 

 purely local, or that surrounding his home in 

 Arizona. It is supposed that Evening Gros- 

 beaks resort to a cooler climate to rear their 

 young and spend the summer. In this Arizona 

 presents varying climatic conditions, from the 

 burning desert to the boreal zones of the snow- 

 capped peaks. 



In this connection I might mention the pres- 

 ence of the Evening Grosbeaks in and near 

 the city of Santa Cruz until the last of April. 

 During the early part of May (May 10) I met 

 with a flock feeding on maple seeds, where the 

 San Lorenzo River emerges from the moun- 

 tains. I have no doubt but what nidification 

 took place in the secluded canyons farther into 

 the mountains. George F. Breninger. 



Santa Cruz, Cal. 



Hummingbirds Alight to Feed. 



A LILY now blooming in my yard is vis- 

 ited several times an hour by Humming- 

 birds, mostly immature Black-chins. 

 They hover about the blossoms a long time, go- 

 ing over them very thoroughly. Yesterday I 

 saw one alight on the side of the upright stem 

 opposite the lower end of a pendant blossom, 



