“The eggs, ten in number, were fresh 
when found, pure white in color, rather 
glossy, and the majority of them are more 
elongated than those of the Bob-white. A 
few of these eggs resemble those of the lat- 
ter somewhat in shape, but the greater 
number are distinctly ovate and much more 
glossy. Some are slightly granulated, and 
corrugations converge from near the middle 
to the smaller end.”’ 
AN EGG OF CYRTONX 
The notable feature about the eggs of 
Cyrtonyx is that they are distinctly ovate in 
form thus differing trom the egg of every 
other representative of the genus Co¢zwas 
which are, according to Bendire, ‘‘usually 
rounded ovate or subpyriform.’’ (p. 38). 
From the figure given by this authority 
I have made a sketch of an egg of the Mas- 
sena Partridge, and this is given here, in 
order that an idea may be gained by the 
reader of its form and size. 
meee ee = 
Western Evening Grosbeak. 
(COCCOTHRAUSTES VESPERTINUS MONTANUS ) 
STARTED out from our camp in the Sierras» 
| on the morning of June 8, with the vain hope 
of rediscovering a beautiful Cassin’s Vireo’s 
nest I had discovered a couple of days before. It 
contained four fresh eggs and was attached toa 
small pine four feet from the ground. I had left 
it with the intention of returning and photograph- 
ing bird, nest and eggs. I thought I had care- 
fully marked the place but on returning with the 
camera, had failed after a long search, to locate 
the spot. We had decided to move camp so after 
bidding good-bye to our jolly, open-bearted host, 
Jerry Brownell, who had cooked our meals and 
pastured our horse for several days with old-time 
Californian hospitality, I left my partner, Mr. 
Osgood, to pack up and start out, while I made 
ny futile attempt at the Vireo’s nest. 
After searching an hour or so and finding nothing 
but an incubated set of Green-tailed Towhee’s eggs 
under a small bush among the leaves, I struck out 
along the ridge, wishing to find a trail leading to 
the road a couple of thousand feet below. I soon 
found a good looking trail and began my descent. 
While passing through a smal! glade, surrounded 
THE NIDOLOGIST 3 
by oak and pine trees, I heard the call of an 
Evening Grosbeak. This call note—faeek or Peet 
I would spell it—is very similar to one of the 
English Sparrow, though much louder, and can be 
heard for some distance in the pine and oak 
forests where the birds were usually seen. I looked 
up and saw two Grosbeaks, a male and a female, 
in the top of a small black oak 35 feet from the 
ground. The male was uttering the notes, while 
the female wandered about the tree catching 
insects. Presently she came to my side of the 
tree, fifteen yards from where I stood and I raised 
my gun to shoot her, but just as I was ready to 
pull the trigger she flew up a couple of feet into a 
small cluster of twigs which I took to be misletoe. 
Iraised my gun a trifle and was ready to press the 
trigger again when I saw her settle down,and open 
her wings and turn round in the commencement 
of a nest. 
She soon came out and flitted down, breaking 
off twigs and dropping tkem until finally she 
got one of a suitable length. She then moved it 
along in her mouth until she held it by the 
center and flew back to the nest where she went 
through the various contortions ’till the twig was 
satisfactorily placed. I watched her for some 
time while the male sat on the other side of the 
tree uttering his single note. I then jotted 
down the following in my note book to enable 
me to find the spot again: ‘Black oak stump 2% 
feet high, 60 feet west, 60 feet from bottom of 
gulch straight down from corral, 60 yards up 
gulch from dead black oak stump. Small pine 
30 feet toward gulch, 100 yards below ditch.”’ 
After looking at the few twigs in the top of 
the tree again I began my descent once more 
and reached the road in due time. On the 18th 
I happened along in this vicinity again, having 
in the meantime paid a short visit to Lake Tahoe. 
I started out at 8 o’clock to climb up the moun- 
tain, expecting to strike the spot in an hour or 
so. I wasted an hour trying to scare a Sooty 
Grouse out of a pine tree by shooting into it. 
Although I saw him fly in and heard him hoot- 
ing in it, I gave up beaten while he kept up his 
little song. I then wasted two hours more try- 
ing to find out where I was at, and finally about 
one o’clock found myself on the top of the 
ridge where I began my descent on the 8th. 
I followed down my old tracks and after walking 
back and forth along a ditch, to find the log I had 
crossed on, found it and made for the nest with a 
very “‘tired feeling.”’ On approaching the tree— 
there, in place of a dozen or so twigs was a 
healthy looking nest, and on closer inspection 
a tail sticking over a little way on one side. 
I lost no time in commencing to ascend. 
Though I broke off twigs and small dry limbs the 
bird staid on until I was within ten feet of its 
nest. She then flew off a few feet but staid in 
the tree until I began climbing down. She twice 
uttered a few weak notes in a scolding manner, 
but with these exceptions, the cry was the same 
as the regular note heard on other occasions and 
the only one I heard the birds give voice to. 
She kept calling for ten or fifteen minutes, but 
no other Grosbeak came near. The nest was 
placed in the fork of a small limb, 35 feet up, near 
the top of the tree, and was readily seen from the 
ground. On first glancing into the nest Ithought 
of Bicolored Blackbirds’ eggs, as the coloration 
and markings were quite similar though the size 
