22 THE CONDOR Vol. XXI 
sight excavation scratched in the hard ground and lined with a few short 
stulks of coarse grass, was all the material used or work done. The coloring of 
the bird on the nest so blended with the surrounding grass, that one had to get 
very near to distinguish her. When flushed she did not remain near the nest, 
but departed, with a small army of Red-winged Blackbirds in pursuit. <A visit 
two hours afterward found her back on the eggs, where she was left undisturbed. 
Though we did not collect any of the parent birds, I am taking it for granted 
that it was the female that was always on the nest; we generally flushed the 
male from his own little den nearby. 
The next day, accompanied by Mr. J. H. Bowles, I again visited the nest, 
flushing the bird at about twenty-five feet. We found the eggs ‘‘pipped’’ so 
after taking several photographs, we beat a hasty retreat as there was a cold 
north wind blowing and the eggs needed protection. Careful examination of the 
nest and vicinity failed to reveal any remains of food, nor were there feathers 
Fig. 6. TIpAL MARSH NEAR TACOMA, THE EDGES OF THESE SLOUGHS ARE USED AS HID- 
ING PLACES AND NESTING SITES BY THE SHORT-EARED OWL. 
of any kind in the nest. J am mentioning this as we found a different condition 
a week later. 
We then ‘‘roped’’ another section of the flats and were rewarded by flush- 
ing a bird off her nest, which contained three eggs. These eggs were also 
‘“pipped’’, and the nest lay in the same exposed position as the former one and 
at about the same distance from the edge of a slough. The ground here was not 
quite so hard and there were four or five dead weed stalks for a back-ground. 
The male jumped less than a hundred feet away. Both birds left at once and 
were not seen again while we were in the vicinity. 
On May 18, a week later, I paid my next visit, accompanied by Mr. Stanton 
Warburton, Jr. Visiting ihe first nest, we Boral the bird upon it. Only two 
