26 THE OSPREY. 



vintage. You will see nature as the masses seldom see it, and one of a senti- 

 mental turn of mind is almost prone, then, and there, to erect a rude cabin of logs 

 in this ancient forest and end his days in a study which yields no disappointment. 

 1 may add, my brother William R. Ray took a set of four eggs of the 

 Point Pinos Junco {Junco hyemalls pinosus) near King Mountain in San Mateo 

 County on May 12, 1901, the nest was made of grasses and stems on the 

 ground, flush with surface; partially hidden by a small bush among the ferns 

 and flowers. The eggs are greenish- white, finely dotted with reddish -brown 

 and lavender, and heavily blotched in a wreath around the larger end; Size 

 .79 X 57, .75 X 58, 72 x .68, .72 x .58. All the Juncos of this locality in 

 the breeding season are now said to be of this variety. 



THE MOCKING BIRD AT HOME. 

 By F. H. Knowlton, Ph. D. 



Although I have traveled quite extensively throughout this country, it has 

 not been my fortune to see very much of the Mocking bird. I have seen an oc- 

 casional example on the islands near the mouth of the Potomac and along 

 Crow Creek, a small stream in northeastern Colorado. At the latter locality 

 they were in considerable abundance, but as it was near the close of the breed- 

 ing season, they were more interested in caring for their young than in giving 

 examples of their musical attainments. It was, therefore, with a great deal 

 of pleasure that I found myself, during the past season, in a locality which 

 afforded them in great abundance and seemingly in the fullest possible song. 



I spent the latter half of June along the San Juan river in southwestern 

 Colorado and northeastern New Mexico, especially in the vicinity of Farming- 

 ton, N. M. The surrounding country, except in the immediate vicinity of 

 the streams, was originally very barren and desolate, the conspicuous veg4- 

 tation consisting mainly of sage bushes, an occasional juniper, and a fringe of 

 cottonwoods and willows along the water courses. The cottonwoods, by the 

 way, were the largest and finest specimens I have seen, not infrequently being 

 4 or 5 feet in diameter and 60 to 75 feet in height. Some twenty years ago 

 a number of settlements were started along the San Juan, the barren soil re- 

 claimed by irrigation, and at the present time they support a succession of 

 splendid fruit orchards. Apples, peaches, plums, cherries, pears, apricots 

 and all small fruits are grown to perfection. 



Whether or not the advent of man has caused an increase in the numbers 

 of Mocking birds, I was not able to ascertain, but certain it is that they are 

 very abundant at present; more abundant, in fact, than I remember to have 

 seen robins at any particular locality in the east, during the breeding season. 



