42 
THE CONDOR 
| Vor,. VIII 
wings and tail. Mr. Ed E. Currier, of Tacoma, was with me and the bird did not 
seem at all afraid of either of us. The male did not appear at any time, which is 
surprising as he is usually in close attendance upon his mate. 
The nest was placed twenty feet from the ground in a young fir, and was 
securely saddled on a good sized limb at a distance of six feet from the trunk of 
the tree. It is a compact structure composed externally of small dead fir twigs, 
various kinds of dry moss, and down from the cotton- wood flowers, showing a 
strong outward resemblance to nests of D. audit boni. But here the likeness be- 
tween the two is at an end; for the lining consists of fine dried grasses, and horse- 
hair, with only a single feather from the wing of a western bluebird. The meas- 
urements are, externally, four inches in diameter and two and three-quarters 
inches deep: internally, two inches in diameter by one and a quarter inches deep. 
The eggs, which are five in number, were incubated about four days. They 
have a rather dull white ground with the slightest suggestion of flesh color, heavily 
blotched and spotted with varying shades of red, brown and lavender. Their 
dimensions in inches are .68 x .53, .69 x .52, .69 x .52, .69 x .53 and .69 x .53. 
Without any of a rather natural partiality on account of their rarity, I think 
they may be considered the handsomest of all the warbler’s eggs. 
Tacom a , Wash ingtou . 
Summer Birds of San Francisco County, California 
BY MII/TON S. RAY 
A WRITER in The Condor recently stated: “San Francisco County being 
very small and covering not much more than the city limits, cuts but little 
figure ornithologically.” Yet the following list of the birds found during 
the breeding season shows our little peninsula to be by no means devoid of bird- 
life, and as the county fronts on both the bay and ocean quite a formidable list of 
migrants and winter residents could be made. The county is nearly square in 
shape being about seven miles each way. The western half is only thinly popu- 
lated, the Presidio Reservation, Golden Gate Park and a number of smaller dis- 
tricts to the south being the principal wooded sections. Introduced trees, such as 
pine, eucalyptus and cypress form the bulk of the timber. The balance of the 
unsettled portion is either barren or sparsely covered with the native scrub oak, 
willow or lupine bushes. Owing to the cool climate there are practically no shade 
trees in the city itself and as gardens of any extent are likewise scarce, the only 
bird which occurs and breeds within the city proper, with a very few exceptions, 
is the European house sparrow. 
1. Fulica americana. American Coot. About the fresh water ponds of the 
park and elsewhere in the western half of the county the coot is a common breeder. 
2. Lophortyx californicus californicus. California Partridge. A common 
resident especially in the park where, owing to the protection they receive, they 
have become exceedingly tame. Largest set of eggs noted, twenty-three. 
3. Zenaidura macroura. Mourning Dove. A fairly abundant summer resident. 
4. Cathartes aura. Turkey Vulture. Seen during spring and summer. 
5. Elanus leucurus. White-tailed Kite. One seen in May, 1900. 
6. Buteo borealis calurus. Western Red-tailed Hawk. Noticed in spring 
and summer as well as at other seasons. 
