122 THE CONDOR Vol. X 



With sharp whistling notes they endeavored to drive me away from their home, 

 and I obliged them by retreating to a log, where I sat watching their maneuvers. 

 Nothing more interesting happened than the usual procedure of locating their terri- 

 fied young, which in a few minutes were in evidence from the subdued tone of their 

 notes; so continuing my way down stream I thought of another season to come 

 when I would again make the trip to the South Fork for the sole purpose of ob- 

 taining the nest and eggs of this very desirable bird. 



The opportunity arrived in May of last year, 1907, when in the company of 

 "Fy" Taylor, my usual companion upon such expeditions, I returned to the same 

 locality. And the 27th of May found us on the South Fork up to our necks in 

 patches of huckleberry. A few nests found of the year previous told us we were on 

 the right track and this was verified later by a bleached chip of rotten wood 

 showing thru a bush of huckleberry which revealed a new^ nest empty, but appar- 

 ently in readiness for the bird to take possession. On the following day upon our 

 return the nest contained an egg. The bird being away we quickly left not caring 

 to meet her at this period of the game. On our way back to camp another nest 

 was found by Taylor in a clump of branches of an oak tree about eight feet from 

 the ground above the stream. The nest was almost finished and as we stood beneath 

 it the bird flew into the tree directly in front of us with more building material, but 

 seeing us she quickly disappeared, and evidently started a home elsewhere, for the 

 nest was never completed nor was the bird seen again. The last nest was found 

 May 30th, placed in the shoots of an alder on the bank of the river, and like our 

 previous experience the bird saw us and the nest was abandoned. By this time the 

 first nest found contained three eggs, the bird having laid each day from the date 

 of discovery and three days later, on the 3rd of June, we made a final trip to take 

 the set, w^hich was complete with the three eggs. During the three visits to this 

 nest the bird was not seen until the last moment. As we were wrapping her nest 

 and eggs she darted into the bush above us and seeing the nest gone, flew to a 

 nearby fence and was shot, to complete identification. 



All nests found were placed from two to eight feet from the ground, their 

 favorite nesting site being in patches of huckleberry and in all cases situated close 

 to the stream. This nest was placed in a bush of huckleberry on the edge of the 

 stream three feet from the creek bed. It was composed of chips of dead wood, 

 small branches of huckleberry, dead leaves and twigs, and held together with 

 mosses and rootlets. The lining consisted of fine redwood bark, fibers, fine root- 

 lets and the remains of dead leaves.. The eggs are a shade lighter than the robin's 

 and of one color. 



On the 28th of May, while on our way to the coast after nests of the Nuttall Spar- 

 row another interesting bird was met with. After a hurried visit to a few mammal traps 

 we made our way up a steep cattle-worn trail to the ridge above camp overlooking 

 the ocean. At the top in the center of a little glade a small group of laurels, 

 madrones, tan-oaks and firs, principally the latter, stood with the quiet of a hot 

 morning atmosphere. And out of this quiet came at intervals the rolling note of a 

 lyouisiana Tanager which was a gentle hint for us to cross over and investigate the 

 interior. Just as we broke thru the first low branches at the edge, a dead limb 

 cracked under our feet and a much frightened and surprised Pileated Woodpecker 

 dropped backward from a dead stump and went cackling off thru the timber, much 

 the same as a guinea-hen warbles when with outstretched neck she endeavors to 

 scale the barn yard fence. Floundering over logs and thru brush, Taylor was hot 

 on his trail; for skins of these big fellows are worth a hard day's work, and besides 

 when brought to view in after days usually bring up a pleasant memory. While I 



