66 THE CONDOR Vol. XXI _ 
Now if Nature intended owl to eat oriole to excess I am sure the owl would 
be specialized to a point where the protective nest of the oriole would cease to 
be a hindrance. But when I see the amount of damage done by the jay, | feel 
as if Nature had slipped a cog somewhere; for, so far as I can see, the majority 
of birds have no means of protection against this arch robber. 
I believe that nests of the type of those of the Bush-tit and Cactus Wren 
are primarily for protection against avian thieves; for certainly a Cactus 
Wren’s nest would offer but slight obstacle to creeping reptiles, and none at 
all to the various species of rats and mice which are common in most cactus 
belts. To speak from personal knowledge: on the Mohave and Colorado des- 
erts, and particularly the Mexican deserts, the large desert wood rats and 
ground squirrels cause the destruction of many nests. At Ensenada, Lower 
California, I examined colony after colony of the Bryant Cactus Wren, and 
found that a large percentage of the nests seemed to have been torn out by 
some small mammal. 
In the case of the jay, as if to offset in some degree its ability to create 
mischief, Nature has endowed it with a cowardly disposition, and the average 
small bird when aroused will put it to fight. I imagine the sudden appear- 
ance of an angry wren or bush-tit at the door of its nest would rout the bravest 
jay. I think that the jay does most of its stealing of eggs and young when the . 
parents are away. In the case of some of the very small birds it probably tries 
intimidation. JI came across one instance of this kind this past spring. My 
attention was attracted by the actions and excited calls of a pair of Western 
Gnatcatchers in a clump of live-oaks. Approaching under cover of some adja- 
cent bushes, I was able to see the cause of the disturbance. It was a jay, and he 
evidently had his eye on the contents of the dainty little nest of the Gnateatch- 
ers near by. Heedless of their protests he was working his way nearer and 
nearer, but just when anticipation was merging into realization I shattered his 
hopes with a fusillade of rocks. It is a safe rule never to approach a nest open- 
ly if a person be in a locality where jays are plentiful. To do so spells certain 
ruin for that particular nest. 
The crow must also be included as a destroyer of eggs and young birds, but 
it is harder to catch in the act. Personally I know of but few instances of de- 
struction wrought by crows where the evidence was conclusive. Years ago, in 
Illinois, I was much amused when I caught a crow in the act of eating the eggs 
in another crow’s nest; if this wasn’t exactly a case of crow eat crow, it was 
at least a case of poetic justice. Another instance of its egg eating propensity 
was the destruction by a crow of a set of eggs of the Red-bellied Hawk in Los 
Angeles County, California. The remains of shells and contents, and a tell- 
tale black feather, told the story. This was in a locality where crows were 
nesting, and were very plentiful. 
A storm in the late spring of 1918, although lasting but a few hours, was of 
such intensity and accompanied by such wind, that it caused the destruction of 
innumerable nests, especially pendant ones. Another cold, heavy rainstorm 
lasting several days visited southern California in June of the same year, at 
a time when normally all rains are over for the season. It played havoe with 
the hummingbirds and vireos especially, as they were at the height of their 
breeding season. While these storms cannot be classed as a constant factor in 
this part of the state (and I fancy nesting periods are pretty well adjusted to — 
