Sept., 1903 | 
THE CONDOR 
133 
be seen leading her little brood of tiny chicks in and out among the almost impenetrable masses 
of thorns. 
The second illustration shows two young road-runners, probably six weeks old, in the nest. 
This was in a clump of cactus in Upper Chollas Valley, and the little fellows were very patient 
and considerate, remaining quiet and looking pleasant while the artist went through the necessary 
preliminaries and made the plate. The one at the left, however, being somewhat shy, hid his 
head behind his companion just before the exposure was made. To see if the birds remained, 
because they were unable to run, I stirred them up a little and they hopped off the nest ahd ran 
away through the cactus and weeds, looking back occasionally to see if they were being 
pursued. — F. W. Kelsey, Prin. San Diego Cont'l, College. 
Early Nesting of Calypte anna in the Vicinity of Santa Monica, California. — Dur- 
ing the season of 1901 I was fortunate enough to locate several sets of Anna hummers in Jan- 
uary and February, but not having much time to devote to oology at that time I was com- 
pelled to confine my observations to a very small locality near my residence, namely, a grove of 
eucalyptus trees which was completely surrounded by a hedge of C}fpress. These latter were the 
favorite nesting place of the hummers. The whole grove, eucalyptus, cypress and all, only 
covered an ordinary city block of about 220 yards square. 
In walking through this grove on January 21 of that year I noticed two female Anna hum- 
mers gathering material for nests and on watching them closely, soon located the nests, both of 
which were in cypress trees, and just started, one about twelve and the other twenty-three feet 
high. These nests were carefully watched and on January 30, I collected my earliest set of Anna 
hummers. The other only contained one egg on this date but a complete set was taken on 
February I. On systematically going over and watching this grove I found seven nests in all 
before the first of March, all of which contained fresh eggs excepting one, and that nearly full 
fledged young, which, by my reckoning would have been a fresh set about the second week in 
January. 
Locating so many sets in such a small place and so early in the season seemed to me quite 
unusual and I determined to follow it up the next season and see what the results would be . 
Circumstances compelled me to give this up in 1902 but the present year found me with plenty 
of time on my hands. I made my first observation trip on January i, and I was rewarded by 
finding two nests just about ready for eggs. One contained a set on January 4, and the other 
January 8. My observations were not confined to the special grove I have mentioned above but 
took in several oak and eucalyptus groves within a radius of two miles of Santa Monica. 
Between January i and February 18 I hav; found fifty-two nests of .A.nna hummingbirds and 
was only out, then, about two hours every third day. The following from my field book shows 
the result; 
Jan. I, 2 nests noted, both building. 
Jan. 8 , I nest noted with a fresh set. 
Jan. 18, I nest noted with 2 eggs, slightly in- 
cubated. 
Jan. 21, I nest noted with two eggs perfectly 
fresh. 
Jan. 23, I nest noted with two eggs slightly 
incubated. 
Jan. 25, 6 nests noted, 4 of which were build- 
ing and 2 contained fresh sets. 
Feb. 7, 2 nests noted, one contained a set 
badly incubated and the other fresh. 
Feb. 8, I nest noted, which contained young 
about grown. 
Feb. 10, 9 nests noted, 7 of which were 
building in the different stages and two fresh 
sets. 
Feb. 11,6 nests noted, one was building. 3 
fresh sets, i with nearly grown young and one 
which contained two eggs of which one was 
broken, evidently by the parent as the nest 
was deserted and the tree covered with ants. 
Feb. 13, 2 nests noted, both with fresh sets. 
Feb. 15, 13 nests noted, 4 building and 9 con- 
tained fresh or slightly incubated sets. 
Feb. 16, 3 nests noted, all with fresh eggs. 
Feb. 18, 4 nests noted, i building, i with a 
fre.sh set and two with badly incubated eggs. 
They were in trees as follows; i in a cotton wood, i in a willow, 2 in sumachs, 5 in cypress, 
36 in eucalyptus, and were from seventeen inches high, in a sumach, to about thirty feet in a 
cotton wood. 
The above records, I believe, show that the Anna hummingbird is a very early breeder and 
in fact, it may be stated that they are just as plentiful in the latter part of January and the 
whole of February as in March, .April, May and June. In looking over my notes for the past ten 
years I find no time where the Anna hummer has been as plentiful as the present season. We 
may even find that it breeds more abundantly in February than in any other month, or this mav 
be a freak season, which will only be settled by later developments. — W. LEE Chamher.s. 
The Western Marsh Wren in California. — An examination of the marsh wrens 
in the collections of Mr. Frank S. Daggett and myself discloses the fact that two easily- 
