Jan., 1907 BIRDS OBSERVED FROM MARYSVILIvE TO GRASS VALLEY 25 



while I was near. Lark sparrows were plentiful. The farmer of that country 

 believes that if a swallow builds in his barn it will not burn; and some will even 

 take off the insurance. A black phoebe is called a "storm bird" in that region. 



Between Sheep Dip and Hammon City, May 13, '06. — In an old magpie's 

 nest in the top of an oak I found a set of five sparrow hawk's eggs, heavily in- 

 cubated. The parent did not fly off until I was within five feet of the nest. This 

 was in an oak tree near a farm house. 



The next oak contained a nest of the yellow-billed magpie {Pica iiuttalU) 

 about forty feet from the ground. This contained five fresh eggs. It was made 

 of oak twigs lined with mud and hair, and having a dome of oak twigs. The 

 parent birds were very noisy. There were three other nests in nearby oaks all con- 

 taining young. Each nest had an addled ^%^ in it. 



Bullock orioles {Icterus hiiUocki) were plentiful in the oaks. They built in 

 the outhanging limbs, making their nests of hair, lined with wool, the heights 

 ranging from six to twenty-five feet from the ground. Three nests I looked at had 

 one fresh ^%^ each, one nest had five incubated eggs and another five fresh eggs. 

 The parent birds would stay above me in the oaks and chatter and growl as long as 

 I was near. I saw one nest that had oats interwoven in the hair making the most 

 beautiful nest of its kind I ever saw. I also saw a female oriole hanging beside an 

 unfinished nest. Upon examination I found a single horsehair had become tangled 

 around her neck and she had died beside her unfinished home. 



The next nest was one of the Swainson hawk in an old magpie's nest in an 

 oak. It contained two fresh eggs. The parent bird flew off when I came under 

 the tree and sailed away slowly without a cry. There were many nests of the kingbird, 

 but it was too early for their eggs. Mourning doves were numerous also, but no 

 eggs were found. The English sparrow had invaded even this country. They 

 built in the oaks near the farmhouses. I also found an unfinished nest of the 

 Arkansas goldfinch in a poplar beside the river. 



Sheep Dip, May 13 to 24. — Found a nest of the meadow lark in a field, con- 

 taining five fresh eggs. The bird was a close sitter. I also found a set of dove's 

 eggs in a field laid on the bare ground. May 16, I found a ground owl's nest. I 

 dug out the nest and found eight eggs and one young. Two of the eggs were 

 fresh. When I reached in and pulled out the sitting bird by the leg she did not 

 attempt to bite. When I let her go outside of the hole, instead of flying away, as 

 I naturally supposed she would, she dodged back to her nest in the ground. The 

 remains of a lark and a rat were in the nest. The entrance was lined with cow dung. 



May 17, I dug out another owl's nest. It contained eight eggs, one of which 

 was fresh, two or three rotten and the others in different stages of incubation. 

 May 20, I found another set of the Swainson hawk in an old magpie's nest in an 

 oak. It contained three incubated eggs. The parents made no outcry. The lin- 

 net's nests I observed all had incubated eggs. In another magpie's nest I found 

 three fresh eggs of the sparrow hawk. The parent bird raised a big outcry. All 

 the magpie's nests I saw had young. I also found another nest of the gnatcatcher. 

 It was built in a live-oak about twelve feet from the ground. It was built of 

 lichens, feathers, etc., and saddled upon a lone branch. The next nest was one 

 of the California jay. It was built of twigs lined with hair, and looked flimsy. 

 The parent bird slipped off and did not utter a sound all the time I was near. A 

 little further on I found a nest of a flicker. It was in a pine stub about thirty feet 

 from the ground. The hole followed a quarter turn in the tree and was about a 

 foot deep. It contained six glossy, white eggs showing the yolk thru the shell. 



