The Say Phoebe 
cry Look at 'ere, look at 'ere, look at 'ere with great distinctness. 
Eggs are first laid by the ioth of April, and usually at least two 
broods, sometimes three, are raised in a season. At the Point of Rocks, 
in northwestern Kern County, I found a nest containing young about 
ready to fly, on the 4th of April, the egg complement having been depos¬ 
ited in this instance by the ioth of March. In the natural state these 
Pewees nest about cliffs, at moderate heights, and in shallow caves. In 
selecting a site, they show a decided 
preference for a cliff which enjoys the 
protection of nesting Prairie Falcons. 
In one instance a pair of these birds 
nested within ten feet of a pair of Barn 
Owls. The association might have been 
accidental, or the Owls’ kitchen-midden 
of gopher-skulls, hard by, might have 
offered inducement to flies, and, so, to 
Flycatchers. A stout bracket of twigs, 
weed-fibers, lichens, and other soft sub¬ 
stances, is constructed, and a luxurious 
lining of wool and hair is supplied; but 
the whole must be artificially shielded by 
some projecting tooth or facet of stone, 
or covered frankly by the shelter of an 
overarching roof. 
Latterly, bridges, culverts, and out¬ 
buildings are being more and more utilized 
by Say’s Pewees as nesting sites. Es¬ 
pecially attractive to this shelter-loving 
bird are deserted shacks. Never shall I 
forget a monumental structure, full eight 
inches in height, which was placed on a 
shelf in an old windowless shack on the 
“Garden of Eden” townsite. This for¬ 
lorn memorial of human folly on the edge 
of the Colorado Desert seemed an espe¬ 
cially fitting place for this married muse 
of melancholy. Three whacking big eggs 
gave promise of future Says, a promise 
which we did not thwart. 
The author in taking his first set of 
Say Pewee eggs selected a nest which 
could be reached only by canoe, one 
877 
Taken in Santa Barbara County 
Photo by the Author 
ON LOOKOUT 
