88 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XVII 
nest was found July 11 a few rods away, also in a mesquite, and seven feet 
from the ground. This nest contained four eggs partly incubated, of which 
one hatched July 20, the others on the three succeeding days. This would indi- 
cate that the bird starts incubating with the first egg. The mother was very 
anxious about the eggs, and ran around close to me in a mammalian sort of 
way, flat on the ground, tail dragging, and head stretched out in front only 
about three inches from the soil. She did not look like a bird at all, and though 
making no fluttering demonstration, her antics were calculated to excite curi- 
osity and distract attention from the nest. This nest may have been the second 
set of the owners of the first one found. 
Chordeiles acutipennis texensis. Texas Nighthawk. A pair of these birds 
was flushed in a certain location each trip I made, but no nest could be 
found. The place was not favorable for finding the eggs, and I firmly believe 
the birds were nesting there. 
Tyrannus verticals. Western Kingbird. A nest with two eggs in top of 
mesquite about fifteen feet from the ground. Another with three eggs in 
young cottonwood tree only eighteen feet from our back door. The location, 
in the forks of the tree about eleven feet from the ground, was not favorable 
for nest-building and the wind kept blowing it down until T fastened a few 
wires for a support. Then a Bendire Thrasher came and tried to take the site 
away from the Kingbirds. The Thrasher would bring some nesting material, 
and settle down in the nest. Then the Kingbirds would appear, scolding and 
trying to drive her away. As long as they kept flying at her she stayed on the 
nest, but if one came close and alighted she would fluff out her feathers and 
make a vicious dive at him, or her, as it might be. Had her mate been as 
much on the job the Kingbirds would have lost out, but he sang and did noth- 
ing else, so she finally gave it up, and the Kingbirds raised three young. 
Molothrus ater obscurus. Dwarf Cowbird. Two eggs found in the nest 
of a Plumbeous Gnatcatcher in a Zizyphus bush. Many of the Cowbirds stayed 
in the barnyard and ate watermelon in our back yard, but they had to search 
farther afield for more Gnatcatcher ’s nests. 
Agelaius phoeniceus sonoriensis. Sonora Red-winged Blackbird. A pair 
built a nest in a clump of mesquites at the edge of an alfalfa field, but deserted 
it, probably to join a small colony nesting in some willows along an irrigating 
ditch about a quarter of a mile distant. 
Icterus bullocki. Bullock Oriole. One nested in a young cottonwood near 
the house and raised four young. Another had a nest with three eggs about 
nine feet up in a Zizyphus shrub. Tavo others were in mesquite trees, eight and 
fifteen feet from the ground, respectively, and contained four eggs each. 
Pipilo aberti. Abert Towhee. Eight nests found, with two and three eggs 
to the set. Three nests were in mesquites, two in Dondia bushes, two in Zizy- 
phus shrubs, and one in an umbrella tree. The average height from the ground 
was five and one half feet. One nest was empty, with a blacksnake coiled 
round it, and the birds in distress nearby. I tried to secure the snake in order 
to determine how many eggs or young the nest had contained, but he escaped. 
The latest date was July 23, when three eggs partly incubated were found. 
This late set may have been a second one. 
Cardinalis cardinalis superbus. Arizona Cardinal. A Cardinal raised 
three young in a mesquite in the dense growth already described, and later. 
July 1, built another nest and started incubating on two eggs. I watched to 
