104 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XIII 
Bobwhites ( Colinits virginianns) , introduced b>' man, were not infrequent at Medi- 
cine Root and Grass Creek, while at Lake Creek there was one small bevy, which, 
when alarmed, took refuge under a ranchman’s dwelling house! In that region, 
too, if the statements of the settlers are correct, the Pinnated Grouse ( Tympa}iti- 
chiis aniericaniis) is increasing in numbers and forcing the Sharp-tailed Grouse 
( Pedioecctcs phasiancUiis) out of the valley. In the highland country, however, 
where I dwelt also, only the latter species is to be found. 
Downy (Dryohates fiibescejis iiicdiamis'i and Hairy ( Dryobates vil/osus) 
Woodpeckers w^ere resident where trees abounded, but did not come to the build- 
ings. Blue jays {Cycuiocitta crisfata) now becoming more numerous wdth each 
returning year, often stopped at the door. The Orchard {Icterus spuriiis) and the 
Bullock Orioles {Icterus buUocki) hung their pendent nests in the great cotton- 
wmods that stand isolated on the meadows of Grass Creek; and at the house on the 
hill there and at Medicine Root the charming lay of the Black-headed Grosbeak 
( Zamelodia )}icIanoccf>hala) was wafted to the ear from the groves below. 
Then, too, the notes of migrating Arctic Bluebirds (Sialia currucoides) 
greeted us from overhead, and numberless warblers and greenlets enlivened the 
thickets as, in their pilgrimages, they followed the north and south streams. But 
to enumerate all my bird acquaintances in that pleasant land, would, in itself, 
prove a task; therefore I wdll not prolong the list. Perhaps they came flying to 
the grounds — perhaps their notes were zephyr-borne from the trees below; in what 
way soever they made themselves known, these feathered companions were an un- 
failing source of pleasure and instruction. 
A NESTING COLONY OF HEERMANN GULLS AND BREWSTER 
BOOBIES 
By JOHN E. THAYER 
WITH THREE PHOTOS 
I N the spring of 1909 I sent my collector, Mr. Wilmot W. Brown, Jr., to the 
islands off the coast of southern Lower California in the hopes that he would 
find the nesting place of the Heermann Gull (Lams hcerjuanni). After a 
long and weary search on the different islands, he found a large breeding colony 
on the southeastern end of the Island of Idlefonso. This wms March 28. After 
waiting a few days, so that the birds w’ould have full sets, he collected a very large 
series. With a few exceptions most of the nests contained two eggs; some tw^enty 
or thirty had three. 
Mr. Brown says: “The nest in all cases was simply a well formed depression 
in the ground with no lining whatsoever. There must have been over fifteen 
thousand Heermann Gulls nesting on this island. 
“On the southeastern end of the island, facing the sea, there is a large semi- 
circular shaped depression, which covers about five acres. It is quite level on the 
bottom and covered with gravel, with here and there blocks of lava scattered about. 
(See fig. 35. ) It is well protected from the northwest wdnd, which prevails here 
in March and April. At the time I arrived on the island immense numbers of 
these gulls had congregated. They literally covered the ground. They were so 
