Jan., 1909 
NOTES ON THE HABITS OF PHAINOPEPLA NITENS 
23 
from the nest, but she didn’t return tho I watched for eight minutes. About this 
time I noticed a pair of Phainopeplas building a nest in another pepper tree, perhaps 
150 feet away. This nest was near the top of a small branch that grew in an 
almost perpendicular direction. A small piece of rolled-back bark seemed to be its 
only support. It seemed an almost impossible place for a nest, but the birds were 
building industriously despite a high wind. 
I did not go to the first nest at this time; but the next afternoon when I went 
to look at it, it was entirely gone. Not until then did I realize that undoubtedly 
this second nest was built by the same pair of birds that had built the first. What 
made them change their nest I could not guess, unless the wind and rain had 
done so. 
All the next forenoon (May 5) the birds w r ere seen working at the new 7 nest. 
It was noticed that a pair of mocking birds that were nesting near by often both- 
ered them, driving them about and making themselves generally disagreeable. On 
the afternoon of the 6th, as I passed this second nest tree I noticed a male Phaino- 
pepla go down to the nest and fly away again w 7 ith something in his mouth. This 
v 7 as carried to another pepper tree only a few yards away. 
Investigation proved that a third nest was being constructed on a horizontal 
branch of the tree. There was no crotch and the nest was a flimsy affair; never- 
the-less the male sat upon it so long that I wondered if brooding had begun. 
Going back to nest number tw 7 o I saw 7 that it w 7 as almost gone. When, two days 
later, I again looked for this third nest, like the other two — it had vanished. 
Just where the birds went after this I am not sure, but a pair of Phainopeplas 
w 7 ere seen in a large oak tree less than a block away. I have always thought that 
the last tw 7 o nests were moved because of the action of the mocking birds. This is 
not the first time that I have known these Phainopeplas to change their nests, but I 
never knew 7 them to do so, so many times. 
Later in the season I found a Phainopepla’s nest wdfich contained tw 7 o well- 
feathered young. In fact they were nearly ready to leave the nest. One of them 
seemed quite restless, flirting his short tail, spreading his wings, and calling 
“scrat” vigorously. This was on July 10, and was, I believe, the second nest of 
the birds. 
Saturday morning, July 11, w 7 hile I watched at the tree, the restless nestling 
jumped from the nest onto the branch beside it, paused a moment, turned around, 
and jumped back. The next morning shortly after eleven o’clock one of the 
young birds again jumped out of the nest onto the limb and then hopped into the 
tree above the nest. He flew and hopped about in the tree for twelve minutes and 
then flew back to the nest and cuddled down beside his companion. While he was 
in the tree the male fed him once and the bird in the nest also once. The food was 
nightshade berries carried in bill and throat. 
The next morning, July 13, the young were still in the nest, but when I 
visited it a little before ten o’clock they had both left and were not even in the tree. 
One of them I found across the street in a pepper tree. The male came to feed him 
but would not do so while I was near. 
All the time that I watched at this nest only the male bird w 7 as about. Some 
ill fate had evidently overtaken the female, leaving the care of the nestlings en- 
tirely to the male, no hardship for a bird that does so much of it anyw 7 ay. 
Los Angeles, California. 
