Jan., 1919 THE SOLITAIRES OF SHASTA 13 
is invonstant—searcely excellent enough to have merited Newberry’s encomium 
of ‘‘best’’, yet very gratifying to the ear,—and rare. 
Bert [Mr. A. G. Vrooman, of Santa Cruz] had the good fortune to find the 
nest of a Townsend Solitaire 12 feet up in the heart of a rotten fir stump. All 
he had to go by was a bit of outcropping black moss, so he hit the stump a whack 
on general principles, and out flashed the bird. Since Bert had never even seen 
a Townsend Solitaire but once before in his hfe (in Trinity County, July 3, 
1916), he was appropriately elated. He had, however, just been through a seance 
with another Solitaire about 100 yards away, and this, too, while he was passing 
a dead stump. The bird had appeared from the direction in which it had first 
been heard singing, and as it passed him. it began to hover with slowly flutter- 
Fig. 1. NESTING HAUNT OF TOWNSEND SOLITAIRE. POSITION OF NEST V148/3-161S INDICATED 
BY WHITE xX. 
ing wings, and with every appearance of solicitude. And this it did for a dist- 
ance of a hundred yards, or until just before it lighted in a tree. 
We have just visited the stub together. The bird flushed silently. We 
Zlanced hastily at the two eggs which the nest contained, then retired to a dist- 
ance of thirty yards. Almost immediately the bird came back, so that we fear 
advanced incubation. The male presently came up also and sat silently, in plain 
sight, some fifty yards away. He scarcely moves and he says nothing, for M. 
townsendi is a very patient bird. 
July 10: Returning to claim the eggs, we find the bird on, facing toward 
the exit. The eggs prove to be dead and, therefore, of quite an unknown age— 
