July. 1902. 
THE CONDOR 
when she began chipping violentl3^ 
He immediately stopped singing and 
flew to her and both disappeared — they 
are almost impossible to follow as a 
rule. On returning to where the nest 
had been, both were there, searching 
everywhere within thirty feet, and al- 
waj's keeping close together, stopping 
occasional!}" and looking at each other 
and chipping exactly as if asking ques- 
tions about it. The female of one nest 
gave up looking for the male and staid 
around waiting for him. In half an 
hour or so, he returned without singing 
till ab( ut thirty yards away, when the 
song was entirely different from any 
that I have ever heard from this or any 
other kind of bird. It was on the prin- 
ciple of a yellow-throated vireo or a 
.scarlet tanager; but the quality of a 
blue-headed vireo in addition, making 
a very strong and rich song. It was 
just about sunset and he evidently did 
not suspect danger, so possibly the nest 
might be located by listening for this 
song towards evening, but I never 
heard anything like it afterward. 
When he arrived they had a hurried 
conversation in very low but earnest 
“tsips,” on the branch where he first 
appeared, she having flown to him im- 
mediately, evidently explaining every- 
thing, before he started to investigate. 
A most noticeable characteristic of 
the birds of southern Oregon is their 
perfect self-possession. There is no 
wild, noisy exhibition of fear or despair, 
and they never become “rattled” or 
confused. When anything unusual 
happens, there seems to be a very brief 
and usually silent period of careful 
thought and then the decision is meth- 
odically carried out. Every crevice in 
B5 
the bark and every bunch of moss 
is carefully searched and if the 
nest and eggs were placed any- 
where within ten feet of its original 
situation, they would certainly be 
found, but I never thought of trying 
this to see what the birds would do. 
The nests were from three feet and 
three inches to twenty-five feet from 
the ground, oaks seeming the favorite 
in .southern Oregon and fir near Ta- 
coma. The usual situation is in a 
small clump of leaves that is just large 
enough to almost completely conceal 
the nest, and yet so very small that a 
crow or jay would never think of any- 
tliing being concealed in them. They 
probably nest higher still, but of course 
are more difficult to find. 
Fresh eggs were found from May 14, 
to June 24 and there was no reason to 
suppose that more than one set was 
laid. As the eggs from Tacoma are 
very much larger than those from Ore- 
gon, it is possible that the birds may 
vary in the same way that the Parula 
warbler does on the Atlantic coast. 
Tacoma eggs av^erage .83X.63 inches and 
Oregon eggs varying from .62x 48 to .72 
X.52 inches. Tlie nests externally are 
about 3x23.^ inches and internally ijjx 
1%^ inches in diameter and depth. 
They are composed externally of grass 
and weed-stalks that must be several 
seasons old, (being bleached and very 
soft) moss snd feathers; and lined with 
feathers (one had evidently been lined 
from a dead Steller jay), horse, cow and 
rabbit hair or fur, and sometimes the 
very fine stems of the flowers of some 
kind of moss. The male has never been 
seen to assist either at nest-building or 
incubation. 
Nesting of the Little Flammulated Screech Owl on San Gorgonio Mountain. 
BY M. FRENCH (',ICM.\N, BANNINO, C.Al,. 
J UNE 3, 1894 stands out in my 
note book as a red-letter day. On 
that date in company with my 
friend, Nathan Hargrave, I was birds- 
nesting on Ray wood Flat about 7500 feet 
of the way toward the summit of San 
Oorgonio peak, some 11,900 feet high. 
Those who have hunted for birds nest- 
ing in deserted woodpeckers’ holes 
know the labor and disappointment en- 
