98 THE NIDOLOGIST 
ufacturers give us a camera in which the 
magazine attachment can be detached in 
the field, with safety to the film, thus al- 
lowing the use of cut films in holders, so 
giving the advantage of a perfect, verifiable 
focus, and a camera at ¢hat, withal, that 
shall not be too heavy for carrying all day 
long through quagmires and tangled woods 
and over rocky hills? 
(To be continued.) 
+ = 
Nesting of the White-throated Swift* 
HE writer’s experience with the nest- 
ing of the White-throated Swift is a 
series of misfortunes, and at the same 
time a testimonial to the value of the refer- 
ence books on which we are accustomed to 
depend for our information with regard to 
little known species. In fact, the results 
are so meager that they might be consid- 
ered not sufficient to make public. This 
Swift is of general but not of plentiful dis- 
tribution in the San Luis Obispo coast 
region. Nearly every cliff of any consid- 
erable size has its complement of Swifts 
darting and circling about it, uttering their 
peculiar twittering cry. This, I believe, 
is usually uttered on the downward flight, 
being highest in pitch at the beginning of 
the descent and lowering with the progress 
of the bird, and it can sometimes be heard 
also when the birds are at rest in the cliffs. 
Occasionally they may be seen flying over 
the valleys, but so high that they are 
seldom observed at any distance from the 
cliffs. 
As to the question of migration the 
writer cannot speak positively. The 
Swifts have been observed around the cliffs 
at all times of the year, but whether the 
same individuals or not is not certain. In 
one instance during the fall (it was the 
Duck season) large numbers were observed 
hovering above the ponds of a small tule 
lake. On April 14, 1893, the writer and a 
brother were proceeding along the coast. 
The cliffs were of about twenty-five feet in 
height, and had a second story of caves 
above those in which the water was. Hav- 
ing discovered something in a narrow 
crack in the roof of a cave about nine feet 
up, he called me over. We found it to be 
a Swift on a nest. By standing on my 
shoulders my brother could reach the nest 
and found it to be not quite completed, the 
Swift meanwhile only withdrawing a few 
inches above his hand. On April 26 we 
again visited the nest, as this ordinarily 
would have been long enough for a set of 
eggs to be deposited. ‘This time I went up 
and found no eggs. The bird attempted to 
fly out and came into my hand, and a 
glance was sufficient to remove any doubt 
as to identity. On May 12 the spot was 
again visited, and seemed to be deserted. 
I attempted to remove the nest, but owing 
to the softness of the dry grasses of which 
I found it to be composed and the strength 
of glue used in the construction, it could 
be taken out only in fragments. The 
grass was such as covered all the neighbor- 
ing hills and the glue used in the construc- 
tion explained the length of time necessary 
for completion. 
Camping in the vicinity I happened to 
pass the spot on July 17, and to my 
astonishment the crack was _ tenanted. 
Investigation showed one egg almost 
hatched and two young, to the best of the 
writer’s knowledge, as the nest could not 
be seen into. The egg is pure white 
except for some nest markings, and meas- 
ures .9x.43 inches. In shape it resembles 
a Hummingbird’s egg, being long and 
equal-ended. Swifts may be seen flying 
into cracks of almost any cliff tenanted by 
a large number of them, but these cracks 
are, in all cases observed, so narrow as to 
permit of no possible access. 
N. M. Moran. 
Berkeley, Cal. 
*Read before the Cooper Ornithological Club of 
California, February 1, 1896. 
> >_< 
Interesting Comments. 
HE following letters, apropos of our removal, 
have been lately received, and explain 
themselves: 
145 BRATTLE STREET, CAMBRIDGE, 
Mass., May 6, 1896. 
My Drar Mr. Tayior: I have been spending 
the past five weeks at Concord, ina little log cabin 
in the woods, where I go to rest once or twice a 
year. Returning, I learn with much regret that 
by my absence I have missed the pleasure of see- 
ing you here and showiug you my collection. 
I am very sorry, also, that there should have 
been so long a delay in answering your letter ask- 
ing for my advice with respect to moving your 
establishment back to California. On that point 
I -have no doubts whatever, for I have always 
believed that you made a mistake in coming Hast. 
It is not easy to define my reasons for this opinion, 
but my feeling was that THE NIDOLOGIST was a 
natural outgrowth of the Pacific Slope, that it had 
that large and interesting region to itself,and that 
it possessed a certain distinctive Western flavor 
