` 
Western coast. While rising from the ground his movements are 
anything but graceful; he starts with a few very awkward steps 
and still more awkward flaps of his immense wings, but after 
reaching an elevation of fifty to seventy-five feet, flapping of the 
wings ceases, and as he circles above you, ascending higher and 
higher on motionless wings, he proves himself king of the soar- 
ing birds. But the magpie was the object of our trip, and to her’ 
we must return. Our time was well selected, for the nesting was 
atits height. The large globular nests were seen in the tops of 
anumber of trees, and most of those that we climbed to con- 
tained good sets of eggs. We obtained nine sets altogether. 
: Five nests were found in sycamores and contained three, six, seven, 
Seven and nine eggs respectively. The full nest complement for 
each of the first two sets had evidently not been reached, as the 
eggs Were perfectly fresh. Incubation had scarcely begun in the 
two sets of seven each; and the nine eggs of the other set showed 
but slight embryonic changes. 
Two sets of eight eggs each were taken from nests in live oaks, 
and with these incubation had proceeded several days. One 
beautiful set of eight eggs was found ina nest in the top of a 
willow near the lower end of the cafion. In only two or three 
of the eggs were embryonic changes visible. But one nest was. 
ound in a cottonwood, the one we had “ spotted” in the morn- 
ng, and but a short distance from the willow just mentioned. In 
this nest we found four fresh eggs. Thus from the nine nests we 
Sot sixty eggs, which we regarded as a pretty fair day’s collect- 
mg. From the above facts it seems safe to conclude that the 
Usual nest com 
to nine eggs, and that the sycamore is the favorite tree in which 
to nest in that region, 
‘Part. An irregular-shaped entrance-way is left at one side, and ~ 
- Sthe horizontal diameter is not sufficient to permit any other — 
on terial iS used in the cons 
The Yellow-billed Magpie. 609 : 
me or roof of the nest being somewhat thinner than the lower 
: of the nest support the dome-shaped roof at a sufficient _ - ae 
ht to permit the long tail of the sitting bird to extend upward, 
mp sition of that member. Except in the lining, very coarse 
ats truction of the nest—large twigs of © : 
cottonwood being most frequently used. The nest is roughly 
plement of the yellow-billed magpie is from seven _ 
The nest is a large globular structure very much resembling : is 
3 crow’s nests placed with their faces or edges together, the 
Pe 
RRS: 
