64 THE NIDOLOGIST 
which the male was evidently feeding ,the 
female or feeding young, darting in and out 
as above related. All of which were between 
fifty and one hundred feet above the surf 
but utterly unaccessible because of the nar- 
rowness of the crevices. On June 16 I col- 
lected a set of three eggs from the same 
nest which was robbed May 16. The parent 
bird again not only remained in the nest 
but objected to the intrusion by striking at 
my hand so that I feared she would break 
the eggs. The eggs were incubated about 
one-fifth and measure .84x.56; .88x.54 and 
.82x.56 inches.’’ 
The two sets of eggs of White-throated 
Swift described in the paper were exhibited, 
being probably the only perfect sets of this 
species yet taken. 
Donald A. Cohen of Alameda read a 
paper on 
The Western Flycatcher. 
“In this locality we may look for the 
return of our feathered friend in the latter 
part of March. In 1896 I noted the first 
arrival on the 24th and three days later quite 
anumber. When first arriving, evidently 
singly, they are rather shy but indicate 
their presence by their familiar ‘tshweep.’’ 
A visit to last year’s nesting site will gener- 
ally reveal the presence of a pair of birds 
and it appears the old birds usually inhabit 
the same small district if it is not usurped 
by some other pair. In this small domaiv 
they rule as miniature Kingbirds and are 
more than a match for the piratical Jay, 
their small size and great activity winning 
over bulk and strength. ‘These little acro- 
bats of the air are so quick and ‘scientific’ 
that attacked birds are glad to retreat in 
in short order where they recognize that 
vigorous rattle of snapping beaks, an almost 
mechanical sound. 
“May 4, 1895, a set of almost hatched 
eggs was the earliest record of the numer- 
ous nests I have found. Nearly all the 
sets are of four eggs, often three, while two 
faint recollections of sets of five eggs are 
recalled from my childhood days. The 
nests are on anaverage 8 feet from the 
ground while one noticed was but little over 
one foot and another nearly 45 feet from 
the ground, both on buildings. Ledges and 
sills on houses and old buildings, beams 
and rafters-in sheds, barns, and frames and 
under bridges are suitable sites for a nest. 
Slight hollows in the trunks of trees are 
readily used, in fact any suitable nook with 
a good foundation may be selected where 
the close-setting bird in her cobweb covered 
nest is well hidden in what appears to the 
casual observer to be an accumulation of 
web and dirt from natural sources. Many 
nests however are built on some horizontal 
fork of a bushy tree, mostly cypress, while 
one is occasionally found supported by vines 
against the trunk of a tree or the side of a 
house. Only twice have I found a nest on 
twigs and foliage and that was on a thick 
cypress. 
‘‘Kor three seasons I have failed after 
dilligent search to discover a nest of a cer- 
tain pair of Western Flycatchers. There 
were many fine sites near at hand but none 
were chosen. It was only by chance that I 
saw one of them fly with a moth in its bill 
to a crack extending lengthwise about five 
inches in an almost perpendicular, live limb 
of a gigantic oak, about 4o feet from the 
ground. The limb was about five inches in 
diameter. Like most other birds in nesting 
season they become rather nervous at the 
approach of a person but never really ex- 
cited. The bird or birds as the case may 
be, will alight often very close to you with 
see-sawing tail and shrugging’ wings, all at 
once darting into the air to catch an insect, 
then immediately settling again perhaps on 
the identical perch and going through the 
same performance time after time, never 
betraying by its actions whether you are 
‘hot or cold’ and uttering every two seconds 
or so its plaintive ‘‘tshweep,’’ as if to say 
‘I know that you are aware I have a nest, 
but find it if you can.’ 
‘The female sitting close with the knowl- 
edge that her color isin harmony with that 
of her surroundings can often be caught by 
a dexterous movement of the hand. I noted 
one caught and held for a few seconds re- 
turn instantly to her eggs after first alight- 
ing on the nearest perch to get her bear- 
ings. Occasionally, if robbed, a second set 
is deposited in the original nest, while if 
the nest be also removed, a second and even 
a third nest and set is produced ina re- 
markably short space of time, generally in 
the immediate locality. The construction 
of the nest varies but slightly when the 
material is at hand; a bunch of dirty cob- 
webs, a few dead leaves, a little dry grass, 
occasionally a bit of string and a few 
feathers, then a liberal drapery and festoon- 
ing of cobwebs and lastly the lining of fine 
shredded bark and vegetable fibres. By 
August the bird has become conspicuous 
