Sept., 1917 FROM FIELD AND STUDY 167 



be too much for the birds. They did not seem to mind being moved about continually, 

 but would not tolerate the presence of a man working near them all day, finally deserting 

 the young. I tried to save the little ones by feeding them with bread soaked in milk, but 

 they were too young to live through my rough nursing. 



Another pair of House Finches built a nest directly over the entrance to our cabin. 

 As it was apt to be in our way my partner destroyed it. But they were persistent, and 

 tried it again with the same result. They have already built three nests on exactly the 

 same spot and are now working on a fourth, evidently believing in the old saying, "If at 

 first you don't succeed, try, try again". Evidently they have taken a strong dislike to 

 my partner and myself, and seem to show their indignation by pecking at the window 

 nearest the entrance whenever either of us is inside. — Ernest C. Mailliard, Hay Fork, 

 Trinity County, California, June 1, 1911. 



The Black-footed Albatross off the Coast of Washington. — While not by any means 

 wishing to intimate that the following notes constitute a new record for the region, the 

 writer considers that the occurrence of albatrosses of any kind near our shores is pos- 

 sibly a matter of general interest. On May 27, 1917, we were so fortunate as to secure 

 three fine specimens of the Black-footed Albatross (Diomedea nigripes) which were col- 

 lected about eighteen miles southwest of Cape Flattery, Washington. Although not ob- 

 served in abundance, these birds were frequently seen. They occasionally followed the 

 fishing boats, generally by two's, looking for such scraps of fish as might be thrown 

 overboard. The measurements of the birds were as follows, in inches: Male, length 34.25, 

 extent 84.25; male, length 35.00, extent 86.00; female, length 31.50, extent 77.49. All 

 these specimens are now in the collection of Mr. D. E. Brown, of Seattle, Washington. — 

 E. A. Kitchix, Tacoma, Washington, August 1, 1911. 



Nesting of the Wilson Phalarope near Fresno, California. — In The Condor, xviii, 

 page 196, I recorded the occurrence of Steganopus tricolor near Firebaugh and suggested 

 the possibility that the pair encountered might have been breeding or preparing to do so. 

 Since that time persistent inquiry and some little field work have brought to light much 

 additional information and finally resulted in the verification of my suspicion. 



On May 25, 1917, I visited a large, overflowed pasture about twelve miles south- 

 west of Fresno and noted several pairs of phalaropes all of which were in the rich breed- 

 ing plumage and apparently mated. Sometimes, before the birds were seen, I was aware 

 of their presence by their characteristic notes which sound like subdued, grunting 

 quacks, but from the fact that both birds were together I concluded that they had not yet 

 commenced to nest. 



The next opportunity to visit this pasture came on June 18, and again I was soon 

 attracted by the Cinnamon Teal-like quacking of a phalarope. This time, however, the 

 bird was alone, and from its large size and bright plumage I assumed it was the female 

 and that her mate was probably occupying a nest nearby. Accordingly I approached 

 slowly, hoping that this bird might give some slight clue as to its whereabouts, and was 

 much pleased to see that, after a short flight, she flew across a small island of about a 

 quarter of an acre in extent and came back to the exact place from which she took flight. 

 Repeating this experiment several times brought exactly the same results. 



The island mentioned was covered, for the most part, with a thick growth of Ber- 

 muda grass, so, after blocking it off into several imaginary sections, I began a system- 

 atic search and in less than fifteen minutes a phalarope fluttered from its nest and with 

 all the feigned injury of a brooding dove limped away to join its mate. Immediately I 

 concealed myself as best I could and remained quiet. After numerous slow flights 

 around the island the pair finally settled down at the water's edge and the smaller and 

 less brilliantly plumaged of the two came sneaking through the grass from behind, walked 

 directly past me at a distance of not to exceed ten feet and took its place on the nest. 



It seemed desirable to make sure that the question of identification might never 

 arise in this case so I threw a clod toward the nest, causing the sitting bird to spring 

 into the air and fly to the water's edge some fifteen feet away where he plowed along 

 with feathers ruffled, grunting and puffing like an angry coot. The four eggs rested in 

 a slight depression in the ground, lined with dry grass stems. Incubation had advanced 

 to feathered embryos. Upon dissection the brooding bird proved to be the male. Anoth- 



