194 
THE CONDOR 
Von. XII 
upper parts left no clout in my mind that I had found the nest of a Brewer Sparrow. 
So long as I remained motionless the sparrow staid on her nest, but at the first 
suggestion of a movement she darted away among the foliage, after which the nest 
with its contents was collected and the eggs were found to be heavily incubated. 
Thinking that perhaps there might be a small colony of these sparrows, a more 
extensive search was made, as time permitted, resulting in the discovery on June 16 
of a second nest in a location scarcely different from the first but containing two 
full fledged young birds. One of these was removed from the nest; it remained 
quiet while being held in my hand but the moment it was put back into the nest 
and I had started to leave, both of the little fellows jumpt from the vine and hur- 
riedly ran mouse-like to a place of concealment. During my stay at the nest both 
parent birds were heard chipping uneasily, but they seldom appeared and never 
came very near. 
Since the season of 1906 each spring has found a few pairs of these little spar- 
rows breeding in that or a nearby vineyard and one fact has imprest itself upon me 
more than any other. Scattered thruout this vineyard were a few vines that were 
either affected with some vine disease or for some other reason had become dwarft 
in comparison to the others. The leaves on each vine had a yellowish cast and 
were small, while the whole vine lackt the thrifty appearance of its fellows. Every 
nest found was in such a vine and I soon came to distinguish them at quite a little 
distance and save much valuable time in searching for nests. 
In order to prove the correctness of the theory that the nests were always 
placed in these small vines I have walkt thru the vineyard during the early winter 
when the leaves had just fallen and in that way found several old nests, but not one 
was bilt in one of the larger vines. 
During the past season (1910) not a sparrow could be found in this vineyard, 
and investigation revealed the fact that the dwarft vines had all disappeared having, 
it seems, been treated in some manner that caused them to take on the bright, 
healthy look of the others. Over half a mile away, however, was another vineyard 
and while passing thru it one morning, I heard the unmistakable song of Sfiizella 
brezveri and soon found quite a number of the “Brewer vines” as I called them. 
Eater a nest was found that afterwards held three eggs. 
All the nests found were much alike in situation and general appearance. A 
typical specimen is composed outwardly of dry grass stems, a few grass blades and 
roots, the inner cavity being made almost entirely of very small, dry brown rootlets 
with a few long horsehairs for lining. In one nest is a white horsehair, but in 
every other instance black ones were used. A single downy quail feather is used 
in the outer framework of one nest, but it does not in any way serve as a lining. A 
nest before me mesures three inches outside diameter by one and seven-eighths in- 
side. The inside depth is one and one-half inches while the outside would mesure 
perhaps half an inch more. On the whole these nests are neat, compact structures 
and some of them are almost exact miniatures of nests of the California Jay. 
Two, three or four eggs constitute the sets, and three is more often found than 
either of the other numbers. Besides the nest with two young birds, one was found 
on May 15, 1907, with one egg, and the following day another was added after 
which the bird began the duties of incubation and no more eggs were deposited. My 
earliest record is May 10 for four very slightly incubated eggs and the latest is 
June 9 for three eggs far advanced. 
Of the food of these sparrows I have learned very little, as the birds were 
always shy and more often heard than seen. I have always had a suspicion that 
