Sept., 1917 NESTING HABITS OF CLARKE NUTCRACKER IX COLORADO 



L53 



nesl assumed same pose as those found Last year, head thrown back and beak 

 open. 



"March 17th. Covered region again today, but nothing new found. 

 Weather mild and snow melting fast. Mountain lion again seen al distance of 

 quarter of a mile, slowly walking along rocky ridge. Three eggs in nest that 

 contained one on the 14th, and I left them. 



"March 19th. Went to canyon no. 3 to collect nest and eggs. Found the 

 bird brooding and tried to get a picture of her by climbing tree. She Lefl 

 when I got to the required position. Nest contained three eggs, as I expected. 

 I photographed the set after 

 breaking away branches con- 

 cealing part of the nest. 

 (See fig. 52.) I then built 

 up a platform so that 1 

 might get a photo of the old 

 bird on the nest. When I 

 went a few paces away she 

 returned and covered the 

 eggs, first investigating the 

 broken branches and the 

 platform of the old trees 

 which 1 had constructed. 

 Returning 1 attempted to 

 get on the stand, but she 

 flew from the nest and I 

 went away, concluding that 

 I would have to be satisfied 

 with a picture at an angle 

 and about eight feet distant. 

 She soon covered the eggs 

 again and I snapped her, but 

 this picture proved to be a 

 failure. I then took the nest. 

 The two birds up to this 

 time were close by and ut- 

 tered repeated caws, but 

 when I took the nesl 

 they disappeared. In about 

 ten minutes one of them, 

 the female, returned, and 

 I shot it. The male came 

 in for a moment, and then flew to the top of the ridge to a perch on a cedar 

 tree, where I watched it through glasses. With neck stretched out and bill 

 pointing skyward, he would hold a strained position for several seconds. I 

 have seen the birds do this same thing at close range, when squeaky notes 

 were uttered, but in this case he was too far away for me to hear. When 1 left 

 he flew to the nest site and I returned to collect him, but he was now very 

 wary and I was unable to do so, though I disliked leaving one of the pair. 

 This nest was situated at the bottom of the canyon near its head, at about 

 8,500 feet altitude, and was placed in the crotch of a good-sized limb of a 



Fig. 52. Nest and eggs oe Clarke Nut- 

 cracker in situ. Set taken March 19, 

 1917. 



