July, 1903 | 
THK CONDOR 
89 
quicker, white- necked ravens. The attack was vigorous, not to say vicious, with 
quick repeated blows and pecks till the feathers flew. From start to finish the 
big birds sought only to escape, but this seemed impossible. They pounded the 
air in vain effort to out-fly 
their tormentors, dove to 
the ground but were forced 
to take wing again, circled 
and beat and tacked to no 
purpose, and finally began 
mounting steadily in big cir- 
cles, taking their punishment 
as they went, the smaller 
birds keeping above and beat- 
ing down on them in succes- 
sion till all were specks in the 
sky, and finally lost to view. 
Such a drubbing I never saw 
a smaller bird inflict on a 
larger, before or since, and it 
was probably well deserved. 
The nests of the white-necked 
ravens are unprotected from 
above and eggs are said to be 
a delicacy to any raven. 
Be that as it may, the breed- 
ing grounds of the two spec- 
ies rarely conflict, si meat ns 
keeping to the tall cliffs and 
mountains and apparently 
for good reasons rarely en- biological sur«ey 
tering the nesting valley of NEST OF CORVUS CRYPTOLEUCUS IN YUCCA M AC ROC AR PA ; 
CVyptolczeCUS. marathon, TEXAS 
Notes on the Bird Conditions of the Fresno District 
BYJ.M. MILLER 
A LARGE portion of the San Joaquin Valley has undergone so rapid a change 
during the past twenty years that the conditions of bird life there have been 
practically revolutionized. The typographical features which at one time 
favored or discouraged bird life have disappeared and new features present the 
conditions for a different and more varied fauna. This change has been due to 
artificial irrigation. Large areas where formerly only the bare plain stretched 
away without a tree in sight for miles are now covered with orchards, vineyards 
and thriving alfalfa fields and dotted with homes and shade trees. This rapid 
transition presents a field for local study which has never been thoroughly covered. 
The early prairie-like conditions of the plain before the advent of the big irri- 
gation systems favored only a decidedly limited fauna both in species and num- 
