4 8 
THE NATURALIST AND COLLECTOR 
nests in junco, and mesquite trees. On 
May 21 I found two new but empty 
nests, some ten feet from the ground, 
one on each side of an ebony standing- 
alone, and on the same day a fine nest 
in the lower part of a large mistletoe, 
at least sixteen feet from the ground, 
in a mesquite tree. Several times I ex¬ 
amined nests in the junco, which is 
oftener seen in bush-form than in pro¬ 
portions entitling it to the name of 
tree. It consists of a mass of green 
thorns, without leaves, and so full of 
pitch that it readily burns when green 
and full of sap. The nests in the 
cacti were never found lower than 
three feet from the ground, and usually 
four or more. 
The nests are well described in Dr. 
Coue’s “Birds of the Colorado Valley,” 
p. 158; and I can add little of interest. 
Nests of the previous season become 
battened down by the rains, and fre¬ 
quently a new one is built on the top 
of an old one. In none did I see twigs 
entering into their composition; all 
were composed of the long grasses 
abundant in the vicinity, and lined 
with feathers, sometimes to the very 
mouth of the retort or bottle-shaped 
structure. On May 14 I took my first 
nest of this bird, containing four 
addled eggs, which had been aband¬ 
oned, as I had watched for their own¬ 
ers to put in an appearance without 
avail. On May 21 young nearly ready 
to fly, fresh eggs, and nests not yet 
finished, were found in abundance in 
the same locality, so that it is hard to 
tell about the particular season for 
breeding, or whether they rear more 
than one brood. One nest contained 
five eggs, the others four or less. The 
eggs are unmistakable in color and 
shape. They appear rich buff without 
a magnifying glass, so fine and closely 
laid are the spots upon the white 
ground. They are quite slender, and 
more pointed at one end than the other. 
In size they average .94 by 65; the larg¬ 
est one taken is 1.00 by .66, and the 
smallest .88 by .63. 
The four young taken May 21 from 
one nest, and preserved in alcohol, 
have top of head dark'brown, back and 
quills colored like adult, but darker, 
the white streaks and spots much 
fainter, under parts like adult, with 
the black spots less conspicuous; russet 
on flanks, lower belly, and under tail- 
coverts very plain; bill brown; feet 
pale. Young, when first hatched, have 
fine, long, light brown down on the 
feather-tracts. 
sennet's waeblee. 
{Parula Nigrilorct) 
After reaching Lomita, April 8, the 
first two days were chiefly occupied in 
getting conveniences and supplies in 
order. On the first collecting day, we 
heard its notes, and the first Warbler 
obtained was this pretty little Parula. 
It is truly a bird of the forest, and de¬ 
lights to be in the the upper branches 
of the tallest trees. The song of the 
male is almost continuous as it flits 
about, and is so clear that it can be 
heard at a long distance and readily 
distinguished from all other birds. By 
its notes we could locate the bird, and 
this accounts for our securing so many 
more males than females. Were it not 
for its song, I doubt if we would have 
taken many, owing to their diminutive 
size and habit of frequenting the tops 
of the forest trees. As it was, by only 
taking such as came in our way, we 
shot over twenty specimens, and could 
have taken any number more had we 
set out for them alone. In feeding 
habits I could see nothing different 
from our familiar blue yellow-back, 
P. americana. 
When the few specimens of this new 
