i68 



THE NIDIOLOGIST 



and twist his neck so that his bill pointed straight 

 up, and in that position feed on the nectar or 

 insects in the blossom. This is the first time 

 I have seen a Hummingbird alight to feed. 



To-day I found a nest of Black-chinned 

 Hummingbird containing two eggs that appear 

 ]iartly incubated. This is late nesting for this 

 species in this locality. F. Stephens. 



Witch Creek, Cal., July 13, 1895 



Random Notes on the Birds 

 Alameda County, Cal. 



of 



BV DONALD A. COHEN. 



{Co/iiinued.) 



THE city of Alameda seems to be the head- 

 quarters of the Plain Titmouse both for 

 summer and winter, but they are rapidly 

 decreasing with the progress of civilization. Five 

 and six eggs are laid, and I have seen two sets of 

 eight eggs each. The nests are usually placed in 

 cavities of the live oak, and many such are too 

 small to admit your hand, and the wood is too 

 hard to repay the labor and time of working 

 for the eggs. 



The Slender-billed Nuthatch is rare. I shot 

 my first one in the early spring of 1887. Perhaps 

 it breeds in our county as it does in Santa Clara. 



The Tule (or Long-billed Marsh) Wren is 

 said to be a rare bird, and it may be on the 

 average, yet it is quite abundant on patches of 

 swamp land where rtishes and tules thrive. 

 They are often found on the salt marshes, but 

 probably do not nest there owing to the ab- 

 sence of tules and rushes. During two hours 

 in a swamp a few miles from Alameda two of 

 us examined about eighty nests attached to the 

 rushes; from two to six nests in a group, and 

 most of them were the sham nests, as only one 

 nest in a group contained lining, and we veri- 

 fied this by returning in ten days and taking a 

 few sets of eggs, all from the nests that we 

 found with lining on our previous trip. 



Parkman's Wren is a tolerably common sum- 

 mer resident, and its habits are about the same 

 as those of the House Wren. I once took a 

 set of their eggs from a hogshead that had been 

 placed ten feet \\\) in an oak tree to serve as a 

 water tank and had become dry. The birds had 

 carried dead twigs enough through the. bung- 

 hole to cover the concave base six inches deep. 



Vigor's Wren arrives early in spring and 

 goes to housekeeping almost anywhere, in such 

 situations as cavities in trees, wood piles, sheds, 

 thick ivy, and one nest I found was in a hen 

 house. I also took two fresh eggs from a nest 

 containing unfledged young. 



The Rock Wren nests among rocks and in 



caves in the hills, and is occasionally found 

 around rocks on lower ground. In winter they 

 are cpiite common in certain localities. 



The California Thrasher, or " Sickle-billed 

 Thrush," is seldom seen, but becomes more 

 common as you advance southward. The nests 

 are well concealed, generally in a clump of 

 briers or wild rose bushes several feet from the 

 ground. 



The American Dipper, or Water Ouzel, is 

 found along any fair-sized creek, and places its 

 ball-of-moss nest on a shelving rock, especially 

 over swift running water. 



The American Pipit, or Titlark, is seen at 

 all times; in winter they are exceedingly com- 

 mon, feeding in fields and damp meadows and 

 even on the salt marsh. In searching food it 

 imitates the Snipe by wading into puddles and 

 boring into the soft places (as far as its short 

 bill will permit). It rarely perches on trees or 

 fences. It does not breed here. 



The Lutescent Warbler is a tolerably rare 

 summer resident, and, being secluded in habits, 

 appears scarcer than it really is. Its nest is 

 placed in some low thicket either in the vege- 

 tation or on the ground. 



The Yellow Warbler is a tolerably common 

 summer resident, but much scarcer than in the 

 East. The nests are hard to find, judging from 

 the number of birds seen. Some of the nests 

 are placed near the tops of tall trees where 

 they are safe from the collector, and the much 

 detested Cowbird does not occur here. 

 ( To be continued. ) 



Nesting of the Florida Screech 

 Owl. 



IT has been my good fortur^e to fall into 

 acquaintance with many pairs of this bird 

 this season. 

 There are three colors of female Owls that 

 lay here, namely, reddish-brown, gray, and 

 brown, and I am informed that these three are 

 the Florida Screech Owl in three phases of 

 plumage. 



There is scarcely a wood around Tallahassee 

 destitute of a jjair of these Owls. They are not 

 particular as to the location of their nests, as I 

 have seen a nest in the hollow of a dead oak 

 about five feet from the ground. I also took a 

 set of three, and twenty days later a set of four, 

 from a hollow of a live oak tree about forty 

 feet u|). I climbed to a hollow one day think- 

 ing I would take a set of Bluebirds' eggs. In- 

 stead I took a set of four of the Owl. The out- 

 side wall of this hollow was simply the bark, 

 and a slight i)ull at this revealed the Owl sitting 

 upon her eggs. When I first began collecting 



