196 THE CONDOR Vol. XXI 
nest. Though several hundred nests were examined, in no case were more than three 
eggs seen in a nest, and in many instances the birds were incubating one or two eggs. 
Podilymbus podiceps. Pied-billed Grebe. Breeding rather commonly in Malheur 
Swamp, though much less plentiful than the last and differing considerably in nesting 
habits. The nest of the Pied-billed Grebe was rather rare near the open water but was 
fairly common in ponds in the swamp well back toward the hay lands. It also nests 
earlier than the last, beginning to lay the first week in May and continuing throughout ; 
the month. Young were noted early in June. Six or seven eggs was the usual comple- 
ment, eight was occasional, and nine was found once. The nests were larger and more 
substantially built than those of C. n. californicus, and were always floating, whereas 
those of the other species are often built on supporting tules. 
Larus californicus. California Gull. At Malheur Lake this and the next species 
were nesting on Pelican Islands, a chain of small grass-covered islets near east end of 
lake. The gull colony was on parts of two of these islands, the two sections of the colony 
being separated by a channel of water about fifty yards wide. There were only about 
sixty pairs of L. californicus nesting, they being greatly outnumbered by the next spe- 
cies. Their nests were all in the same corner of the colony on a strip of bare ground 
and, although they were immediately contiguous to those of delawarensis, the nests of 
the two species did not intermingle. The California Gull began to nest about June 7, 
but it was not through laying until ten days later. On the ninth of July a severe hail 
storm occurred that played sad havoc in the gull colonies, killing a large percentage of the 
downy young. This gull suffered very little, however, only two dead downies being 
noted. 
Larus delawarensis. Ring-billed Gull. By far the most abundant of the gulls 
nesting on Pelican Islands, there being about five hundred pairs in the colonies. Only a 
small percentage of the nests were on the bare ground like those of the last species, 
most of them being in the short grass. They began to lay about June 5 and the majority 
of the clutches were complete by June 15. There was evidently some confusion among 
them as to location of their nests, as one nest containing five eggs and several with four 
eges were noted. In most of these cases two distinct types of eggs were in the clutch 
and they were probably the product of different females. It is feared that a small num- 
ber of the young of this gull survived the summer. Over three hundred dead downies 
were counted that were killed by the hail storm July 9, and many of the young that sur- 
vived this disaster were apparently stricken with disease at about the time they were be- 
ginning to fly and died in considerable numbers. 
While the gulls had not yet begun to nest at Clear Lake at the time of my depart- 
ure from that section, they were present in some numbers at the usual breeding grounds 
on islands in the lake. These islands were visited April 10, on which date about two 
thousand gulls were present. In direct contrast to the gulls at Malheur, at least ninety 
percent of these were californicus, the remainder being delawarensis. 
Sterna caspia. Caspian Tern. First seen at Malheur May 14.. The breeding col- 
ony consisted of about one hundred pairs and was situated on a sandy section of the 
_shore of one of the Pelican Islands directly adjoining one of the Ring-billed Gull colo- 
nies. The Caspian Terns began to lay about June 5 and had apparently finished by June 
15. Most of the nests were hollows in the sand with very little lining. The usual num- 4 
ber of eggs was two, though several nests contained three and one held four. Thirty- r 
two dead downies were counted after the hail storm previously mentioned. 
Sterna forsteri. Forster Tern. By far the most abundant tern in the Malheur re- 
gion, nesting in tules entirely around the lake, though more plentiful on south and west 
sides. The nesting colonies, however, did not extend back into the swamps but were in 
tules in the deeper water, generally within a half mile of the open water of the lake. Two 
types of nesting sites were generally used, one being the tops and sides of muskrat 
houses and the other on broken-down tules floating on the water. The birds using the 
first type of site built no nest whatever, laying the eggs on the tules composing the 
muskrat house, while those using the second location generally built a substantial nest 3 
composed of dead tule stalks. This species began to lay about June 5 and the nesting 
season was considerably extended, some eggs being laid as late as the first week in 
July. Three eggs was the usual complement, though two was rather common and four ~ 
occasional. First young were seen June 28, and they were noted flying by July 20. — 
