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 Sept., 1912 DISCOVERY OF NEST AND EGGS OF CALIFORNIA PINE GROSBEAK 175 to four feet in depth. The investigation of these nests did not cause us any delay as our burro required frequent rest; but as it was now dusk these were made very short as we were anxious to make Forni's before nightfall. In the cooler atmosphere the snow was now becoming more firm and fortun- ately, too, somewhat scattered, allowing us to go along at a rather lively pace. A short distance from the nest of the chickadee I caught sight of two Pine Gros- beaks on an upper limb of a lofty red fir by the road. We could see that one of the birds, fluttering with outstretched wings and open bill, was being fed by the other which appeared, in the fading light, to be a red-plumaged male. We watched the birds with disappointment, for it now seemed apparent that the early breeding record by Coues of another race in Colorado was very likely to apply to the Californian race as well. But soon we witnessed a rather remarkable Fig. 72. FEMALE CALIFORNIA PINE GROSBEAK AS SHE APPROACHED NEST; PHO'IO TAKEN 35 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND; THE DENSITV OF THE FOLIAGE AND CONSEQUENT SHADOWS PREVENTED THE BEST RESULTS PHOTOGRAPHICALLY change in the actions of the birds, for they began billing and cooing and all our calculations about hornotines and an early nesting season were cast aside. Ex- citement ran high, for it seemed more than probable that the birds were nesting, or about to nest, in this very vicinity. Further search was prevented now, however, by approaching darkness. Although Forni's was yet miles farther on, night close at hand, the road snow-covered and hard to follow, and the burro completely tired out, we proceed- ed on our way jubilantly, for at last it seemed success was within our reach. Nine feet up, from a hole in a dead fir along the road, I flushed a White-headed Woodpecker, but I did not climb to it. Swift running streams now became numer- ous; it was necessary to ford these as the bridges had all rotted or washed away. "Jim", unlike most "Nevada Mockingbirds", showed no particular aversion to the