50 A Jniirnrji Aorntis! fhr l^icrrnfi—l^. California. 
Siskin than a Ooldfinch. Its no.-^t was in some nettles, and was 
cup-shaped. The e^-^-s wei-e like a pale edition of our Tledge 
Sparrow's. In tiie aftci-noon we passed throujih larye tracts 
of Barley, this part of tiie vallej^ produeuig a high-class malt- 
ing variety. Doves and Larks were numerous, and we were 
seldom out of siglit of the Red-wings. At a barn where we 
sto])ped to water the horse, a pair of Barn Swallows {Clivicola 
ripaiia) were nesting. The eggs wei'C like those of our 
Swallow, wliile with I'cd spots, principally at the larger end. 
It wa,? after sundown when we reached Santa Paula, and as we 
drove 'through the town a flock of the lai'ge Californian Nightjar 
tp.rensis) wei-e hawking around the street lamps. These 
interesting birds l)reed on the ground in the neighbouring 
mountains, and I knew of a place where several nests could be 
found. We camped this night in the grounds of a friend of my 
partners and had supper with hini. Quite a pleasant change 
after our camp cookiny. 
The next day we set ofl' for Santa Barbara, by way of 
a mountain pass, the name of which I forget. The first part 
of the journey led through well-ke])t fruit ranches, Santa Paula 
being a great fruit ceiitre, over one thousand tons of apricots, 
and five hundred tons of jirunes having l>8en dried there for 
shipment, the previous summer. It has also a large oil re- 
finery, the ci'U'lc oil Icing biouj^ht to the refinoi-y through pipes 
laid dowr. the valley we were now ascending. As we pro- 
ceede(i the valley nairowed, and once more we were into the 
chapparal country, I'athei' diflcrcnt here to what it was in tlie 
higher Sien-as. Here we saw another variety of .Tay {A. 
calijnnrica) not so pretty a bird as the Blue Jay seen pre- 
viously. It i^ a common 1 iid on the coast. It makes a ne-.t 
of sticks simi'ar io that of our English day and in like situa- 
tions. Eggs, dirty white, blotched with I'ufous. Alongside the 
road I'an a small irrigating ditch, and in the bushes and weeds 
growing on the Itanks a good man,y birds were to be seen. I 
caughl gliin])s("^ of a little Grey Flycatcher, probabl.y (E. 
(liffiri/is oi- h\ pHsilliis), also several Wai'blers very like our 
Willow \\'rcn. The.y were probabl.y (//. erlata Inteaccit.s) . 
At mid-day our trail branched off, and turned due west again, 
and the next six or seven miles we had to walk, the grade 
being very steep. This gave me a l>etter chance to observe the 
