excursion along the ridges disclosed one Rock Wren (Salpinctes obsoletus) and a 

 pair of Red-tailed Hawks {Buteo borealis calurus) — nothing more. Yet the beds 

 proper of the lower washes support a variety of vegetation, palo verde, Dahlia, 

 Parkinsonia, creosote, mesquite ocatilla, and cholla cactus. The beautiful 

 palo verde, or green tree {Cercldium torreyanum), so called because of the chloro- 

 phyl distributed throughout its bark, and by virtue of which it needs no leaves, 

 was in splendid flower, great heaps of yellow gold. In such places we fourd 

 Verdins (Aurlparus flavlceps flaviceps), Plumbeous Gnatcatchers (Pohoptila 

 plumbed), Cactus Wrens (Heleodytes brunneicapillus couesi), Le Conte Thrashers 

 {Toxosloma lecontei lecontel), Phainopeplas (Phainopepla nitens), and Desert 

 Quails (Lophorlyx gambell) at home. And these, save for the substitution of 

 Palmer's Thrasher (T. curviroslre palmeri) for the more local Le Conte, we were 

 to find in about the same proportions throughout our desert pilgrimage In any 

 enumeration of desert species it would not be fair to leave out the Ash-throated 

 Flycatcher {Mylarchus cinerascens cinerascens) as ubiquitous in the deserts of 

 Arizona as he is in the woodlands of southern and middle California. These 

 doughty birds appear to subsist, and to breed, miles from any known supply 

 of water. Where the saguaro cactus is at hand, the problem of a nesting site 

 is easily solved but in default of this one, is often at a loss to surmise where the 

 birds find plant-stems large enough to furnish the hollow which they require. 



That birds of prey are hard put to it for nest ng sites is evidenced by the 

 accompanying cut, which is that of a nest of the Western Redtail {Buteo borealis 

 calurus) located in a clump of Fouqueria splendens. Scarcely a hundred yards 

 away from this, doubtless in last year's Redtail's nest, was a lusty brood of 

 Western Horned Owls (Bubo i'irginianus pallescens). Concealment there was 

 none, but a pretense of modesty would have been more seemly, for the nest con- 

 tained, in addition to the usual supply of animated feather cushions, three in 

 this instance, four headless kangaroo rats and a brace of Mourning Doves (Zenai- 

 dura macro ura marginella). 



Of the town of Yuma on the Colorado River, which marks the entrance 

 into Arizona, one can only wonder Why? A railroad crossing an important river 

 may be deemed a sufficient answer, but the brave souls who find it such ought 

 at least to be liberally pensioned. The lower Gila River, too, seemed a region of 

 desolation, only a little milder. The first Sahuaros, the "giant" cactuses, whose 

 quaint majesties cannot be overstated, proved barren. The solitary Elf Owl 

 (Jlicropallas whitneyi), discovered after much vain seeking in an old burrow of 

 the Gilded Flicker (Colaptes chrysoides mearnsi), was guiltless of procreative intent. 



After a disgusted half-morning, we resumed the road, a decent bit of 

 highway, up-stream. Some freak of fancy, a "hunch" perhaps, led me to stop 

 and investigate an old weatherbeaten nest of the Cactus Wren hard by the road- 

 side. A splendid set, 1-7, was the result, and not the least of its charms lay 

 in the half-sized runt which was number seven. I have been looking in old 

 wrens' nests ever since, but never found another one occupied. 



With the waxing of the sun came lunch time, a seductive "draw" various- 

 ly timbered, and a plunge in the turbid Gila. After lunch, Verdins, Gilded 

 Flickers and Gila Woodpeckers (Centurus uropygialis) yielded to our oological 

 persuasion. Clay brought in Abert Towhee (Pipito aberti), n-5, and a good- 

 sized rattler which had surprised him at close quarters while squatted on the 

 ground writing notes. Clay claims that the beast looked over his shoulder, and 

 was about to play the stunt worked by Hamlet's uncle, but decided instead to 

 forfeit four feet of perfectly useless continuity and twelve immense rattles, (with 

 good evidence of others missing). The youngest member of the party, Robert 

 Canterbury, brought in what he alleged to be the egg of a Cactus Wren. I had 

 him show me the nest, and it checked up all right; but the egg was several thou- 

 sand speckles shy of the usual amount. Now Cactus Wrens' eggs* are usually so 

 heavily covered with sayal brown specks as to appear an almost uniform pinkish 

 cinnamon, yet this egg, of indubitable authenticity, was as lightly and as sharply 



*See colored frontispiece of the "Journal of the M. C. O.," Vol. I, Nos. 3 and 4, for illustration of 

 both normal and abnormal types of Cactus Wrens' eggs. 



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