May, 1904 I 
THE CONDOR 
79 
use not only saves one the fatigue of blowing by the month, but it does the work' much more 
quickly. It also enables the particular collector to blow his large eggs with small holes — for 
instance, a large hawk’s egg can be completely blown with a 1-16 hole, and with one of double 
that diameter they can be emptied in double-quick time. 
The vital feature of this outfit is a little foot-pump sold by physicians’ sup])h- houses, for use 
with atomizers. It is four by one and one-half inches when closed, and its interior may be used 
for storage when traveling. From it runs a rubber tube up to the work table, on which lies a 
pure rubber ice bag closed by a doubly perforated cork, through which are two small glass tubes. 
One of these is attached to the tube coming from the pump, the other has a tube running to the 
blow pipe. To use it, insert the fine glass tip into the egg, and pump with the foot. The pres- 
sure expands the rubber icebag which renders the jet from the blowpipe uniform, steady and 
continuous, and at the same time the swelling of the bag is a gauge bj' which one can control 
his T>ressure, as it is easy to burst a small egg with this pump. If many eggs are to be blown, 
one may attach a Y or two, and then two or three persons can work at once from the same pump. 
I have been surprised at the extent of my patience in blowdng a large egg, when I did not 
need to provide the necessary force with my cheeks, and am sure that the result has been for 
me, better specimens with less labor. Sometimes I have found it well to put a second icebag over 
the first, thereby doubling the pressure, where two persons are working together. — \V. FI. .Saux- 
DERvS, Lo?!don, Ontario. 
A Sage Sparrow in Boulder County, Colorado. — On INIarch 18, 1904, I obtained a sam- 
ple copy of Amphispiza belli ncvadcnsis here on my farm, ten miles north of Boulder. Only 
the one bird was seen. The A. O. U. Committee requires this species to inhabit the “Great 
Basin.’' \V. W. Cooke in his research for the material for his “Birds of Colorado’’ and two 
“.Supplements’’ could find but one record “East of the Front Ranges’’ viz., a specimen taken In- 
Mr. F. Bond, near Cheyenne, Wyoming.’’ — B'ked. M. Dii.i.e, Longmont , Colorado. 
The Coues Flycatcher as a Guardian of the Peace. — All who are interested in 
bird life are acquainted with the pugnacious tendencies of flj-catchers. My observations have 
been principally confined to the Coues flycatcher, probably the most alert and warlike member of 
the family. During the breeding .season, while the female is on the nest, the male mav be seen 
nearby on one of his numerous perches, usually on the top of some dead tree, where he sits on 
guard from daylight until dark. Occasionnally he darts off to catch an insect, and at short inter- 
vals utters his never-changing note, which gives him his Mexican name. This note is best 
described in Spanish, and sounds very much like Jose, Jose-Maria. There is no mistaking the 
bird once you have heard him, for he tells yon his Mexican name with proper accent. hVom the 
last two syllables he is often called tlie Jose Maria bird — simply the names of Joseph and Mary in 
Spanish. 
The Coues flycatcher is a lively, wide-awake fellow, and while sitting on his loftv perch he 
keeps a sharp lookout for any of his numerous enemies who may venture too near his dwelling 
place. The moment a jay, hawk, .squirrel or snake makes its appearance, the flycatcher leaves 
his perch and pounces upon the intruder, at the same time giving the note of alarm which never 
fails to bring the female to the scene. Then there is a snapping of beaks, and a regular whirl 
of wings and tails about the unwelcome visitor, who is forced to leave the locality faster than he came. 
With all his warlike proclivities, the Coues flycatcher has another qualitv — that of attracting 
friends — which is equally strong. Among the more timid birds he numbers a host of friends 
who seem to be conscious of the existing bond, and very readil}’ take advantage of it. My atten- 
tion w'as first called to this fact in the Huachuca Mts., Arizona, in 1896, when on mv first trip to 
that section, in company with H. S. Swarth, II. G. Rising, and W. B. Judson. While we were 
all walking up the canyon above our camp, one of our party found a nest of the plumbeous vireo, 
on a low branch of an oak, within reach from the ground. We were in the act of taking this 
nest, which contained a set of eggs, when one of us observed a nest of the hepatic tenager in 
another oak, not more than twenty feet distant. Natural!}^ our attention was turned to the new 
find, when some one else caught sight of still another nest on a branch of the same limb contain- 
ing the tanager's. Upon flushing the bird, it proved to be a Cones flycatcher. I was soon up the 
tree where I could see into both nests, as they were close together on the same level, and each 
contained eggs. To come to the point for which this paper was written, here on the same limb, 
not more than four feet apart, was a nest of the Coues flycatcher and one of the hepatic tanager, 
with a nest of a plumbeous vireo not more than twenty feet from the others. .Ull these nests con- 
tained full sets of eggs, showing that nest building had been carried on at the same time in all 
three cases. Naturally we wondered how these three pairs of birds, including the belligerent 
flycatcher, could get along in perfect harmony, building their nests and sitting on their eggs 
side by side. Not until later years did I have opportunity to observe the cause and effect of the 
