The California Linnet 



sake, this was shifted about from place to place, until it had occupied 

 "every available spot" in the building. Eggs were laid under these try- 

 ing circumstances and were hatched successfully, although the birds 

 deserted when the man stayed around too long. The exposed ends of 

 mission tiles are favorite places to fill with sticks. Bridges, windmills, 

 piers, warehouses — nothing which promises shelter is overlooked. Trees 

 of any sort and of any height are available, — cypresses, live oaks, syca- 

 mores, cottonwoods and willows, even the inhospitable eucalyptus. I 

 have found nests in the open sage a mile from timber. The cholla cactus 

 is an accustomed couch when not too far removed from water. On the 

 San Jacinto River we found nests settled against the stems of the great 

 blossom stalks of Yucca whipplei. 



Choice of nesting materials is as catholic as that of nesting sites. 

 Again the catalog comprises anything soft and available: straw, grass, 

 weed-stems, flower-heads, string, wool, cotton, vegetable down, bark- 

 strips, moss, horsehair, and, rarely, feathers. There is, however, real 

 artistry among the House Finches, and often the builder makes choice of 

 a single material, so that there is a tasteful simplicity in the finished 

 product. A nest taken near Los Banos is composed almost exclusively 

 of the half-developed buttons of the sycamore tree, together, of course, 

 with their lengthened and very pliable stems. Another taken from a 

 neighboring tree was composed of willow twigs interspersed with the seed- 

 stalks of the shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa pastoris). Another bristles 

 with the outstanding heads of a Briza. A specimen in the M. C. O. col- 

 lection is composed almost entirely of cords plucked from old fish nets. 

 Another taken from the porch of Mr. John Driver, in Montecito, is built 

 of our charming gray lichen — and so through an endless catalog. 



Most interesting of all is the House Finch's habit of appropriating old 

 birds' nests. The primary thought is that of shelter; and those which 

 afford the deepest shelter are oftenest used. Thus, we find old nests of 

 the Bullock and Arizona Hooded Orioles great favorites. The mud 

 bracket of the Barn Swallow is often re-rented, and the abandoned tene- 

 ments of Cliff Swallows are occasionally invaded. In most cases the finch 

 provides a new lining, one better moulded to her own form than the old 

 structure. In the case of a pair using an old magpie's nest, the only mark 

 of association evidenced by the nest proper was that its outer aspect upon 

 one side curved in conformity with the larger bowl of the pie. But again, 

 the finch's contribution may be a mere apology; and there are signs of a 

 definite tendency toward parasitism, as betokened by this slovenly use of 

 other birds' nests. Mr. D. I. Shepardson records 1 several instances where 

 eggs of the House Finch were found with eggs of other birds. In one case, 



i Condor. Vol. XVII.. Sept.-, 1915. pp. 100-101. 



221 



