206 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XVI 
dirty and stained by tbe damp stuff which had been used to form the bottom 
of the second nest. Our collection (that of J. & J. W. Mailliard) contained 
a set of five eggs of A. tricolor, taken by Walter E. Bryant years ago, and the 
writer’s ambition was fired to find one himself, never having been so fortunate 
in several previous experiences with breeding colonies of this species. On this 
occasion success crowned his efforts, and when just about to give up the 
search, wet and tired after the examination of hundreds of nests, a five set 
was discovered. Fortunately it was in such state of incubation as to allow 
of its being saved, and as to leave no room for doubt about its being actually 
one set instead of a combination like the two just mentioned above. By the 
time incubation was completed in the majority of nests and vast numbers of 
young beaks were opening wide for needed nourishment the barley in the 
neighborhood was just reaching the pulpy stage, being “in the milk”, as it is 
called, when the kernels of grain are much relished by the redwings on their 
own account and much prized as a food for the young. Hence a large amount 
of damage is done by these birds when the grain is in this state, and this keeps 
up even when the grain becomes quite hard. But, while thousands of the red- 
wings were visiting the barley fields, as many more were bringing in grass- 
hoppers, cutworms, caterpillars and various sorts of insects in various stages 
of growth, and probably the harm done to the grain is more than offset by the 
good work of destroying injurious pests of the insect world. 
A few adults were shot in the first week in May, at a time when some of 
the barley was in the most appreciated stage of development, to ascertain the 
contents of the stomachs. It happened that those particular individuals, at 
that time of day at least, had been more diligent in the matter of hunting in- 
sects than in robbing the barley fields, for only two or three grains of barley 
were found in each stomach the contents of which consisted mostly of insects 
of several sorts (not determined), grasshoppers being largely in evidence. That, 
however, a great deal of barley was consumed was shown by the stripped heads 
found on the stalks, to say nothing of the visual evidence of the flights of 
birds to and from the grainfields. 
As the youngsters grew larger, leaving their nests and perching in the 
tides, the parents became busier and busier supplying food for the rapidly de- 
veloping appetites, evidently deeming it necessary to maintain a large propor- 
tion of insect life in the bill of fare, judging by the direction from which food 
was brought and by the action of the parents when collecting the food supplies. 
When some nearby alfalfa fields happened to be irrigated great numbers of 
the adult birds arrived on the scene and gathered in quantities of fat grubs 
that were brought to light by the water, most certainly doing a beneficial act 
to the owners of the fields. 
After hunger fear seemed to be one of the first sensations developed in the 
young nestlings. So much was this the case that the youngsters, say a week 
old, would flop out of the nests on the approach of a human being and fall into 
the water. It was impossible to force one’s way through the tules ivithout 
making more or less noise, and the number of suicides would have been so great 
if an extended visit had been made to the nesting ground that the writer con- 
tented himself with investigation of the outer edges, only, during the nestling 
period, not wishing to be responsible for a large and useless loss of life among 
the juvenile population. As the young left the nests and took to the tules their 
feeling of fear did not diminish, and they would flutter or scramble away so 
