THE OOLOQIST 



85 



tailed Grouse is common in the Juditli 

 Basin. 



Most of the nests of the Sharp-tailed 

 Grouse which 1 have examined were 

 in the vicinity of irrigating ditches of 

 small water-courses. There is gen- 

 erally a narrow fringe of weeds at the 

 edge of an irrigating ditch, and the 

 Grouse frequently chooses a site in 

 such a covert. Sometimes there is a 

 narrow Kone of weeds at the edge of a 

 small area of grain or meadow, where 

 low rose-bushes or lark-spur or lupine 

 forms a desirable shelter; there the 

 Grouse is likely to secrete its nest. 



This nest of June 1 was on the mar- 

 gin of a strip of open grass betw^een 

 clumps of timber in the meanders of 

 Big Spring Creek, within sight of 

 Lewistow^n. The site was among a few 

 upright stems of rose and choke-cherry 

 about knee high. I was looking for a 

 nest of the grouse, and the spot ap- 

 peared as likely to yield favorable re- 

 sults. Sure enough, the sitting bird 

 fluttered out of the sparse growth al- 

 most as I was about to tread upon her. 

 She flew away low and with little 

 trepidation, not making the charac- 

 teristic whoof of wing that invariably 

 gives me the heart-flutters when I 

 flush these many prairie birds. This 

 Grouse is a close sitter, and I have 

 frequently pushed a female from the 

 nest; it is common with sitting females 

 to remain with the eggs until the dis- 

 turber kicks against the weeds en- 

 veloping the nest or else until he bends 

 over the site and detects the mother 

 bird closely hovering her treasures. 

 There were 14 eggs in the nest. 



Nest No. 15. June 2. Brewer's 

 Blackbird. The Blackbird is the com- 

 mon one of the northwest, living in 

 the agricultural regions as does the 

 Crow Blackbird of the east. In gen- 

 eral, its traits are quite similar to 

 those of the Purple and Bronzed 



Grackles, though in its nesting habits 

 it is more retiring, not resorting to the 

 neighborhood of buildings as much as 

 the eastern birds. It scarcely ever 

 nests in trees, though there are fre- 

 quent exceptions even to this rule. In 

 fact, I have found its nest in a tree 

 cavity in a grove, even as the Bronzed 

 Crackle can be found nesting in like 

 manner under certain conditions. It 

 is customary for Brewer's Blackbirds 

 to appear in the spring in the patches 

 of shrubbery in the bends of irrigat- 

 ing ditches and the small streams, and 

 there they nest in sites varying from 

 the ground to location in small trees. 

 Most of the nests are in the tops of 

 bushes about breast high. 



The nest I am describing was in a 

 low haw shrub, in an upright crotch 

 three and one-half feet from the 

 ground, a frequent but not the com- 

 monest site. The nest was made of 

 coarse twigs and weed stems, lined 

 with flne grasses and horse-hair. The 

 cavity measured four inches across at 

 the top, and was two and one-half 

 inches deep. This nest contained six 

 eggs of the owner, and one of the cow- 

 bird. 



Nest No. 16. June 6. Western 

 Meadowlark. This nest was first 

 found on June 3, with four eggs, which 

 were left undisturbed; on June 6 it 

 contained six eggs. The nest was 

 made in a tuft of green grass among 

 short sprouts. The material was flne 

 dried grass, partially rounded above 

 and covered with a wisp of coarse 

 dried grass naturally caught among 

 the green blades. The nest was found 

 by flushing the sitting female, and as 

 usual the male was chirping anxiously 

 at a respectful distance. 



Nest No. 17. June 6. Western Ves- 

 per Sparrow. This is a very common 

 summer bird in the northwest, asso- 

 ciated mostly with the ranches and 



