88 
CONDOR 
I Vol. IV 
this way he states they change during 
each day, just about every two hours. 
There is no waiting around the nest, — 
the parents arriving and leaving quick- 
ly and directly. 
This set he collected April 8, taking 
the male by hand from the nest and 
five beautiful eggs rewarded him, incu- 
bation about one-fourth. The nest was 
on east side of tree, opposite the cold 
northern blasts, about twelve feet from 
ground and saddled on hvo stout limbs 
several feet from the bottom of the tree, 
b'ive feet of snow was under the tree. 
The nest was in no wa3's different from 
previous ones observed being very 
warm and adapted to the severe climate 
of that altitude. The eggs measure 
1.33X.92, 1.26X.89, 1.36X.91, r.34x.9i and 
Notes on 
• M. FRKXCH (UT.M 
T he California range of this bird, 
Ai/r//)ar/fs Jiaviceps, being some- 
what restricted, a few observations 
made on the Colorado desert may prove 
interesting. In October 1889 I first 
made acquaintance with the bird. 
While hunting at Whitewater ranch, at 
the east end of San Gorgonio Pass, I 
found a queer nest in a mesquite and as 
it was a new nest in the fall of the year 
1 thought it might be the roosting place 
of some new bird. Returning after 
dark I captured the owner. The follow- 
ing spring 1 found a nest of j’oung 
birds and one infertile egg and a year 
later secured a set of five eggs, all in 
the same neighborhood. This ranch, 
lying at the west end of an arm of the 
desert and at the same time merging 
into a fertile mountain pass, seems to be 
the western limit of the range of the 
verdin. 
The bird is shy and retiring in dispo- 
sition and at first glance might be mis- 
taken for the California bush-tit. But 
a closer scrutiny will reveal the yellow 
or greenish-golden tint of the head and 
the deep chestnut color of the lesser 
wing coverts. It frequents all mesquite 
1.33X.94. This large set must be con- 
sidered extremely unusual, the largest 
set previously found containing four 
and the usual nest complement being 
three. 
The second set alluded to was taken 
April 17 at about 7000 feet altitude in a 
black balsam tree fifty feet high. The 
nest was about sixteen from the ground 
the tree being a very wide-spreading 
one four feet through at the trunk. 
The nest was fully ten feet from the 
body of the tree saddled on a great 
limb ten indies in diameter. The fe- 
male was collected by hand from the 
three eggs, and with the nest carefully 
wound in string was safely brought 
down, — but alas for our hopes, incuba- 
tion was nearly complete. 
the Verdin. 
AN, BANNING, CAT,. 
and screw-bean thickets on this desert. 
Its range is easily determined b}^ the 
great number of nests seen. A peculiar 
feature is the building, by both sexes, 
of winter nests in which to roost at 
night. These nests are built in the 
fall and early winter and a male and 
female nest are usually found near to- 
gether, probably mated birds. They 
seem to have no idea of the conserva- 
tion of heat or of energ}" by having a 
“nest built for two,” but go about 
making two roosting places. 
The nests of male and female differ a 
little, the former being less elaborate, 
smaller, with not so much lining in it. 
The female winter nest differs but little 
from the breeding nest and I am in- 
clined to believe in some cases is used 
as such, possibly by e.xperienced or 
lazy birds. The only material difference 
between female winterand the breeding 
nests lies in the shape of the interior 
and po.ssibly some difference in thick- 
ness of lining. The nest is retort- 
shaped with entrance through a short 
neck extending from one side down- 
ward at angle of 45°. In the breeding 
nest there is a deep cup or depression 
