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 Sept.,1917 FROM FIELD AND STUDY 167 be too much for the birds. They did not seem to mind being moved about continual}y, but would not tolerate the presence of a man working near them all day, finally deserting the young. I tried to' save the little ones by feeding them with bread soaked in milk, but they were too young to live through my rough nursing. Another pair of House Finches built a nest directly over the entrance to our cabin. As it was apt to be in our way my partner destroyed it. But they were persistent, and tried it again with the same result. They have already built three nests on exactly the same spot and are now working on a fourth, evidently believing in the old saying, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again". Evidently they have taken a strong dislike.to my partner and myself, and seem to show their indignation by pecking at the window nearest the entrance whenever either of us is inside.--EREST C. M,n:]:,aD, Hay Fork, rinity County, California, June 1, 1917. The Black-footed Albatross off the Coast of Washingto'm--While not by any means wishi.ng to intimate that the following notes constitute a new record for the region, the writer considers that the occurrence of albatrosses of any kind near our shores is pos- sibly a matter of general interest. On May 27, 1917, we were so fortunate as to secure three fine specimens of the Black-looted Albatross (Diomedea nigripes) which were col- lected about eighteen miles southwest of Cape Flattery, Washington. Although not ob- served in abundance, these birds were frequently seen. They occasionally followed the fishing boats, generally by two's, looking for such scraps of fish as might be thrown overboard. The measurements of the birds were as follows, in inches: Male, length 34.25, exten[ 84.25; male, length 35.00, extent 86.00; female, length 31.50, extent 77.49. All these specimens re now in the collection of Mr. D. E. Brown, of Seattle, Washington.-- E. A. KTClIN, Tacoma, Washington, August 1, 1917. Nesting of the Wilson Phalarope near Fresno, California.--In Txv Couot, xv[[[, page ] 96, I recorded the occurrence of Steganopus tricolor near Firebaugh and suggested the possibility that the pair encountered might have been breeding or preparing to do so. Since that time persistent inquiry and some little field work have brought to light much additional information and finally resulted in the verification of my suspicion. On May 25, 1917, I visited a large, overflowed pasture about twelve miles south- west of Fresno and noted several pairs of phalaropes all of which were in the rich breed- ing plumage and apparently mated. Sometimes, before the birds were seen, I was aware of their presence by their characteristic notes which sound like subdued, grunting quacks, but from the fact that both birds were together I concluded that they had not yet commenced to nest. The next opportunity to visit this pasture came on June 18, and again I was soon attracted by the Cinnamon Teal-like quacking of a phalarope. This time, however, the bird was alone, and from its large size and bright plumage I assumed it wins the female and that her mate was probably occupying a nest nearby. Accordingly I approached slowly, hoping that this bird might give some slight clue as to its whereabouts, and was much pleased to see that, after a short flight, she flew across a small island of about a quarter of an acre in extent and came back to the exact place from which she took flight. Repeating this experiment several times brought exactly the same results. The island mentioned was covered, for the most part, with a thick growth of Ber- muda grass, so, after blocking it off into several imaginary sections, I began a system- atic search and in less than fifteen minutes a phalarope fluttered from its nest and with all the feigned injury of a brooding dove limped away to join its mate. Immediately I concealed myself as best I could and remained quiet. After numerous slow flights around the island the pair finally settled down at the water's edge and the smaller and less brilliantly plumaged of the two came sneaking through the grass from behind, walked directly past me at a distance of not to exceed ten feet and took its place on the nest. It seemed desirable to make sure that the question of identification might never arise in this case so I threw a clod toward the nest, causing the sitting bird to spring into the air and fly to the water's edge some fifteen feet away where he plowed along with feathers ruffled, grunting and puffing like an angry coot. The four eggs rested in a slight depression in the ground, lined with dry grass stems. Incubation had advanced to feathered embryos. Upon dissection the brooding bird proved to be the male. Anoth-