THE ORNITHOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



43 



does," their character is not impeached 

 in the least, for they are great insect 

 destroyers; and although quite fond of 

 seeds, and sometimes youngbuds. I think 

 they generally prefer insect food when 

 obtainable. 



This section of the country is too far 

 north for the cardinal, and too far south 

 for the evening grosbeak, except as 

 rare winter stragglers, as in the winter of 

 1890, when six were killed near this place. 



The rose-breasted grosbeaks, however, 

 fill up the space between the habitat of 

 the evening grosbeak and the cardinal. 



The song of the rose-breasted gros- 

 beak is most pleasing. Theodore Jasper 

 in his "Birds of North America" says, 

 "The rose-breasted grosbeak is, in com- 

 mon opinion, one of the sweetest singers 

 of this continent. His song is rich and 

 melodious, and he sings at night as well 

 as in the daytime. His notes are clear, 

 full, and very loud, suddenly changing, 

 at times, to a plaintive and melancholy, 

 but exceedingly sweet cadence. "' I well 

 remember a morning about the last of 

 June, 1890, when, as a brother ornith- 

 ologist and I were entering a large 

 orchard, the most beautiful song of a 

 grosbeak fell upon our ears. Looking 

 up we beheld one mounted on the top- 

 most branch of a tree, indulging in such 

 sweetness of song, that it would have put 

 Patti to shame. 



In nesting time the male and female 

 take turns in sitting on the eggs. In one 

 of my ■'oologizing" trips, about the first 

 part of June, 1888, I came upon a 

 meadow through which flows the Poka- 

 gon creek, so named from an old Indian 

 chief, who dwelt near its banks. Along 

 the banks of this stream were many 

 thorn bushes. In these about six pairs 

 of grosbeaks had their nests, and were 

 generally sitting upon full complements 

 of eggs. The nests were so thin that 

 the eggs could easily be seen under the 

 parent bird from below. They were 

 situated "from about four to five and a 

 half feet from the ground, and compose<J^ 



of twigs and rootlets thinly woven to- 

 gether. 



The eggs, four in number, are of a 

 greenish- white color, spotted with red- 

 dish brown spots, and are rather smaller 

 than those of the cardinal grosbeak. 



ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD. 

 ( TrocMlus Anna.) 



BY E. H. FISKE, SANTA CLARA, CAL. 



This large species of hummingbird is 

 peculiar to California, and is a constant 

 resident south of San Francisco. They 

 come familiarly about towns and cities, 

 and often into rooms in search of flow- 

 ers. Like all hummingbirds, they are 

 so confident of their power of flight as 

 to alight within a few feet of a man, 

 eyeing him curiously, and uttering their 

 harsh cry, but on the least motion dart- 

 ing away like a comet. 



The nest is usually built on a low hor- 

 izontal branch of some tree or bush, 

 often in gardens, and sometimes on dead 

 branches without any attempt at con- 

 cealment except the outside covering of 

 lichens. It is composed almost wholly 

 of moss, with only a lining of feathers 

 and down from plants. The eggs are 

 usually two, white, and may be distin- 

 guished from eggs of other species of 

 himimers, by being blunt and not so long. 



The eggs are sometimes hatched as 

 early as January, a set being found by 

 one of my friends on January 14th, with 

 incubation far advanced. But this is in 

 the neighborhood of San Francisco where 

 the climate is much warmer the first two 

 or three months of the year than it is 

 later, after the cold sea-winds begin to 

 blow. Fresh eggs are always to be 

 found from the first of April to the last 

 of May, and I have collected fresh eggs 

 as late as July 16th. This year I took 

 two sets of fresh eggs on April .3rd, and 

 another on April 8th. 



The notes of the male sound very 

 much like those produced by filing a saw, 

 and some times like whetting a scythe. 



-»-'-"**J*-*. 



-^^^ 



