196 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XII 
ting until the full complement of eggs is laid, but this does not appear to be the 
case with the Nutcracker. Perhaps a reason for this is the early nesting season, for 
at this time of year the temperature is often so low, both day and night, that there 
would seem to be danger that the eggs would freeze were they not constantly cov- 
ered. On the morning of March 23 I found the nest empty and deserted, before I 
was sure that the complete set had been laid. I suspect that a pine squirrel took the 
eggs, for these animals were not uncommon in the vicinity. The second Nut- 
cracker’s nest was found on April 28, in a similar situation to the first but a few 
feet higher up. It contained tw 7 o fully fledged young, which flew away as I 
climbed the tree. 
N__ On June 3 we moved camp to Pipestone Basin, Jefferson County. This basin 
is a large open grass area, about 5,700 feet in elevation and surrounded by moun- 
tains. Pipestone Creek winds thru the center, bordered by open grass marshes and 
fringes of willow bushes. Near the upper end of the basin the willows form dense 
impenetrable thickets. About the borders of the marsh, the higher and dryer parts 
of the basin are clothed in lux- 
uriant bunch grass and sage- 
brush, and slope gently up to 
meet the scattered firs that mark 
the edge of the mountain forest. 
At this season of the year bird 
life was very abundant in the 
basin. About our camp on the 
edge of the forest, Robins, Moun- 
tain Bluebirds, Red-shafted 
Flickers, Ruby-crowned King- 
lets, Pink-sided Juncos, Western 
Tanagers and Hammond Fly- 
catchers were common. From 
farther up the mountain slopes 
came songs of the Olive- backt 
and Audubon Hermit Thrushes. 
In the willow thickets were 
Willow 7 Thrushes, Mountain 
Song, Lincoln and Slate-colored 
Fox Sparrows, Warbling Vireos, 
Yellow-throats, and Lutescent and Pileolated Warblers. In the open grass of 
the basin were Vesper and Savannah Sparrows, Brewer Blackbirds and Western 
Medowlarks, -while from a mass of boulders on the other side came the tinkling 
song of the Rock Wren. 
My first nest was a common one, that of a Magpie ( Pica pica hudsonia) placed 
in the top of a fir tree, a rather uncommon situation in this region, and containing 
four nearly grown young. On June 8 we experienced a late spring snowstorm, 
and when I climbed to this nest the next day, I found that it contained two dead 
birds and one live one. I have seen other cases where young Magpies have died 
in the nest apparently because of late spring snowstorms. Magpies in this region 
most commonly lay six or seven eggs. Only once have I seen a full set of as few 
as four. On the other hand I have never seen a brood of young Magpies out of 
the nest that numbered more than three. These observations seem to show that 
there isa high mortality among young Magpies possibly due to late spring snowstorms. 
When climbing the tree to this nest, the parent birds became very much ex- 
Pig. 64. NEST AND EGGS OE WILSON SNIPE 
