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 124 THE CONDOR Vol. XX localities where the specimens were collected.--T. S. PALMER, Washington, D.C., Marcl 5, 1918. An Odd Nest of the Song Sparrow of Los Coronados Islands.--Many of the land birds inhabiting' the islands off the coast of California have through long isolation ac- quired characteristics so pronounced as to warrant separation from the mainland forms. Not only has the plumage and the dimensions of the birds chalxged but their hab- its have been altered to conform to the new conditions of life. During the past spring it was the writer's good fortune to be able to visit Los Cor- onarice Islands, off the coast of Lower California, and to spend several days studying the habits of the nesting birds there. One of the most interesting was the local form of song sparrow, Melospiza melodia clementae. There is no water to be found on any of the islands and but a scanty growth of vegetation growing from between the rocks on the steep slopes, surely a strange place to look for nests of the song sparrow. However, a number of the birds were seen and two nests located. One of these, on South Island, was three feet up in a small bush and .Fig. 22. NEST OF 8OlO SPARROW FROM LOS CORONADOS ISLANDS, I.' WHICH FEATHERS OF VARIOUS SEABIRDS AND A 'SNAKE-SKIN HAVE ENTERED AS COIgSTITUENT IIATERIALS. Photo by J. B. Dixon. on May 5 held one egg. It was constructed of grass entirely and was quite similar to nests found on the mainland. The second nest was found on North Island and was cer- tainly a strange affair, being constructed entirely of feathere and the skin of a lizard (see fig. 22). This nest was found in the midst of the large colony of California Brown Pelicans and Western Gulls. It was built on the ground among the rocks, but was completely hid- den by a small scrubby bush, very dense and lying fiat and close to the earth. The par- ent bird betrayed her treasures; as I was carefully picking my way among the pelican and gull nests she hopped up through the bush only a few feet ahead of me and immedi- ately ducked back into the identical spot from which she had emerged. Directly below the small opening in the bush was a large ball of feathers. This proved to be the nest and held three slightly incubated eggs. It is the only nest of any species of song sparrow that the writer has ever seen which contained so much as one feather. It can truly be said that there is no accounting for individual tastes even among the sparrows.--NELsO. K. CARl'ENTER, EscodidO, Cali- fornia, February 1, 1918.