Sept, 1912 DISCOVERY OF NEST AND EGGS OP CALIFORNIA PINE GROSBEAK 175 
to four feet in depth. The investigation of these nests did not cause us any 
delay as our burro required frequent rest ; but as it was now dusk these were 
made very short as we were anxious to make Forni’s before nightfall. 
In the cooler atmosphere the snow was now becoming more firm and fortun- 
ately, too, somewhat scattered, allowing us to go along at a rather lively pace. 
A short distance from the nest of the chickadee I caught sight of two Pine Gros- 
beaks on an upper limb of a lofty red fir by the road. We could see that one of 
the birds, fluttering with outstretched wings and open bill, was being fed by the 
other which appeared, in the fading light, to be a red-plumaged male. We 
watched the birds with disappointment, for it now seemed apparent that the 
early breeding record by Cones of another race in Colorado was very likely to 
apply to the Californian race as well. P>ut .soon we witnessed a rather remarkable 
B'ig. 72. FEMALE CALIFORNIA PINE GROSBEAK AS SHE 
APPROACHED NEST; PHOTO TAKEN .35 FEET ABOVE 
THE ground; the density of the FOLIAGE 
AND CONSEQUENT SHADOWS PREVENTED 
THE BEST results PHOTOGRAPHICALLY 
change in the actions of the birds, for they began billing and cooing and all our 
calculations about hornotines and an early nesting season were cast aside. Ex- 
citement ran high, for it seemed more than probable that the birds were nesting, 
or about to nest, in this very vicinity. Further search was prevented now, 
however, by approaching darkness. 
Although Forni’s was yet miles farther on, night close at hand, the road 
snow-covered and hard to follow, and the burro completely tired out, we proceed- 
ed on our way jubilantly, for at last it seemed success was within our reach. 
Nine feet up, from a hole in a dead fir along the road, I flushed a White-headed 
Woodpecker, but I did not climb to it. Swift running streams now became numer- 
ous ; it was necessary to ford these as the bridges had all rotted or washed away. 
Jim , unlike most “Nevada Mockingbirds”, showed no particular aversion to the 
