Page:Condor5(4).djvu/17

 98 THE CONDOR [VOL. V duration of incubation and stay of young in nest all were destroyed by one agency or another. Most of these nests were of California towhee, house finch, Arkansas goldfinch, hummingbirds, etc., but as sure as one was recorded in my note-book so sure was it to be destroyed. Most of the agencies of destruction could only be surmised, such as jays, cats, snakes, etc., but several nests were blown away by the strong north winds that sweep through here in the sprinff from time to time. Some nests were deserted soon after construction, but most of them were robbed, or destroyed, at periods varying from that of fresh laid eggs to young within three days of leaving. In the cases where young were destroyed it is more than prob- able the numerous and voracious colonies of ants in this neighborhood may have been a factor, as Mr. Reddington tells me that these insects give him a great deal of trouble among his pet bantams while the young are still small. This destruction or desertion of nests may have appeared larger in this than in other places on my records on account of the proxinfity to the town causing the presence of numerous cats to kill, and people to frighten away the birds, but the conditions are most cer- tainly discouraging to the observer, and more so to the birds themselves. In the territory worked over the small boy did not appear to cut much figure, as he was seldom met with. Another matter noted was the extrenely early moulting of many of the birds of this locality. There may be observations on this subject extant, upon southern birds, which have escaped my attention or memory, but it seemed remarkable that so many birds should be in poor feather as early as April x5th. just the date at which the best plumage would naturally be expected. During my visit to Santa Cruz Island in April and May, x898, these conditions did not exist in that locality, and the birds there were in fine breeding plumage, with the exception of the horned larks which are generally in poor feather very early, and this in spite of an abnormally dry season when all the grain died at the height of six inches. Yet here in Santa Barbara, as early as May 5 while still nesting such birds as jays, finches, wren-tits, wrens, bluebirds and other residents were in the state of moult, that one would expect to find in July or August. Even freshly arrived migrants, such ms the different Empidonax, Helmintlophila, etc., with some exceptions, were in a partial state of moult, the exception being the orioles, blackbirds, phaino- peplas and a few others, which were in a normal seasonal plumage. Some of the birds were not only moulting but also had their feathers actually worn away by the wind. In fact all of them, except those whose habits led them to remain for the most part hidden close under brush, showed more or less of this wear. In dry climates it is usual to find more or less abrasion among the old feathers. The climate of Santa Barbara itself is more or less humid from its prox- imity to the sea, and though not very much rain fails it is hardly dry enough to compare with the interior, hence this abrasion must be caused by some other agency, which can be nothing else than the heavy north gales that strike the val- ley from time to time in the sprinff and usually blow for two or three days at a stretch, and are, as a rule warm and dry. In the vicinity of the town there is but little wind except these gales, and the specimens from here show much less wear than do those from the vicinity of Point Conception. Mr. Reddington kindly col- lected some birds from this latter place and also from the Santa Inez River valley, some twenty-five miles north of the town. At Point Conception a strong wind is almost constantly blowing, and the specimens from there show this abrasion to a remarkable extent, in many cases the feathers of the head, breast and back being worn down to a sharp angie, with hardly sufficient of the outermost barbs and