Jan., 1911 
NKSTINd OF TIIK CALIFORNIA CUCKOO 
21 
large horizontal limb of a willow tree, at a point where two small limbs joined the 
larger one, and these held the nest firm. It was composed of long dry twigs, to 
which clung a little moss, and this, when the material was woven into a platform, 
held the structure together. It was deeply cupped, for the species, and contained 
two fresh eggs. The bird was brooding and showed no signs of fear as I climbed 
the tree. She did not leave her post, but sat watching me intently as I approached. 
She neither uttered a sound, nor ruffled a feather, but as I reached out to touch 
her, she dropped from her nest and glided awa}" among the willows. 
On July 4, of the same year, while bass fishing in one of the ponds of the 
lagoon, my mind was often diverted from my rod by a low “kuk-kuk-kuk” in 
the brush near bj^ When an adult bird dashed from the willows and glided away 
down stream, skimming along just above the surface of the water, I laid aside my 
rod and began to investigate. Entering the brush for a distance of perhaps thirty 
yards, I found the object of mj^ search, a frail platform of twigs, placed about 
seven feet from the ground in a bunch of poison oak. The female was brooding 
and watched me intently as I approached. An old log was lying upon the ground 
directly beneath the nest, and as I stood upon it, and reached up to pull down the 
branch upon which the nest was built, the bird dropped from her nest and glided 
away. among the willows, in exactly the same manner as the first. This nest was 
one of the frailest e.xamples of bird architecture I have ever seen. It contained 
one fresh egg which could easily be seen from beneath. As I stood there, wonder- 
ing what law of nature prevented the wind from scattering that home and its contents 
upon the ground, I heard something rustle in the branches above me, and glancing 
up, beheld the anxious parent hopping from branch to branch, holding in her 
beak a large yellow caterpillar. I then left for about ten minutes and upon 
returning, saw her again brooding upon her nest. Again I flushed her, as I 
wished'to determine whether or not she would easily desert her nest. Just before 
leaving for home, I quietly returned to the spot and saw her contentedly brooding. 
One week later I revisited the place and found the set to consist of two large, 
greenish blue eggs. Soon after this the cuckoos began their regular migration, and 
the last one seen in 1909 was about the middle of July. One evening as I was 
doing my chores one passed over flying low. She went directly to a clump of 
willows, in wdiich I have reason to believe she had a nest though I was unable to 
find it. 
On the 31st of May, 1910, came the first of the California Cuckoos. On the 
morning of that date, about five o’clock, a loud, clear “kow-kow-kow” came 
floating from the top of a large pine near by. As I glanced in that direction, two 
birds flew from the tree and sailed across a small valley to the hills beyond. From 
that day on they became more and more numerous, and for tw'o w'eeks remained in 
the uplands and then, as abruptly as they had come, all disappeared, having 
retired to their nesting haunts. Pressure of ranch work prevented my visiting 
the old lagoon until July 7. On that date, as I approached the willow thickets, a 
few birds were heard calling from time to time, from different parts of the brush. 
As I began to work my way through the tangle, the first bird I saw w'as a nearly 
fledged young one. It hopped around the branches above my head and seemed to 
have no fear. It was much the same as the old birds, except that its tail had 
attained only about half the normal length, and this, with its large body made the 
bird seem awkward in the extreme. The birds were not as plentiful as they had 
been in the spring. One adult, wdiich I soon located, readily answered my calls. 
She w’as in the topmost branches of a willow, and, as I stood below, would hop 
