Page:Condor20(5).djvu/14

 168 THE CONDOR Vol. XX degree of surety that was surprising to myself. The number of eggs to be ex- pected, the shape, shade of ground color, and style of markings could be given with great accuracy. The general characteristics of the nests, whether com- pact, deeply cupped and neatly finished, or the opposite, were als0 readily "called" before the 'nest was seen. The actions of the different pairs around the nests, etc., were all corroborative to an extent that seemed to justify my as- sumption that the same individuals were there each year. Among the other flycatchers, the Buff-breasted (Empidonax f. pygmaeus), Traill ( Empidonax t. trailli), Arizona Crested (Myiarchus m. magister), Ash-throated (Marchs cinerascens), Sulphur-bellied (Myiodynastes luteiventris), and Olivaceous (Myi- archus I. olivascens), could all be used to further strengthen my conclusions. Hummingbirds als0 may be cited. One certain Rivoli Hummingbird (Eu- genes fulgens) always built in a certain small sycamore or in a neighboring .ma- ple. Unless disturbed before the eggs were laid I could count on a set from this bird. However, if disturbed before the eggs were laid she left that locality and I could not find where she then built; but the next year was sure to see her back to the old homestead again. A Blue-throated Hummingbird (Coeligena clcmcn- ciae) built nest after nest on the same hook. One that I collected showed four stories at least. When I took it I put another hook in its place and had the pleas- ure of photographing the young raised in a nest built on it. Broad-tailed (Selas- phorus platycercus) and Costa (Calypte costae) hummingbirds also helped me along to a certain extent. One of the latter always built on a hammock hook hanging from a rafter in the porch of a neighbor's house. Another always built on the same branch of an ash tree near the San Pedro River. Among the warblers, Sonora Yellow (Dendroica aestiva sonora,ha) and the Lucy (Vermivora luciae) were particularly convincing. Not only did they se- lect the same vicinity for their nests each year, but the type of the eggs was so consistently the same that even an unwilling observer would have lad to ac- knowledge the strong 'probability that what I am trying to demonstrate was a fact. Painted Redstarts (Setophaga picta) were also good ones to count on. The other warblers were so rare and hard to find that they would hardly prove con- vincing, though both Grace (Dendroica graciae) and Olive (Peuccdramus oliva- ccus) warblers could be observed in the same bit of forest each year. In one certain clump of fir trees I could always count upon finding two pairs of Western Evening Grosbeaks (Hesperiphoa v. montana) though I was not always successful in finding both'nests. This I believe was largely because I was not persistent enough. A pair of Western Tanagers (Piranga ludovicia.a), could also be counted upon here. In fact, this group of trees bears me ot in my belief with the following list which I could always find here. Besides the two mentioned, there were Western Robin (Pla,nsticus m. propinquus), Coues Fly- catcher ( Co,tops pertinax pallidiventris), Western Vood Pewee (Contopus richardsoni), Cassin Kingbird (Tyrannus vociferans), Plumbeous Vireo (Lanivi- reo s. plumbeus), Hepatic Tanager (Piraga hepatica), and Long-crested Jay (Cyanocitta s, diademata). Across the trail, but near enough to be listed with the others, was a pair of Western Warbling Vireos (Vireosylva g. swainson, i). I find that my notebook also tells me to look for one pair each of Arizona Junco ( Junco phaeonotus palliatus ), Red-faced Warbler ( Cardellina rubrif rons ),. Vir. ginia Warbler (Vermivora virgina), Westem House Wren (Troglodytes aedo.n parkman,S), Canyon Wren (Catherpes m. conspersus), and Painted Redstart (Setophaga picta) in this immediate vicinity. By immediate I mean within a radius of one hundred yards.