Transcribing the field notes of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology

Collector: Grinnell-1925 Location: Mineral Date: June 17 Page Number: 2476

tree up from the ground 60 feet or more. Nothing more was heard from her. As in the other case, I could hear the muffled "pumping" of a mile in the distance, probably nearer than it sounded.

We got back to camp at 6pm.

June 18

8:15 a.m -- Wright Flycatcher's nest, the one found four days ago and which Dixon has been photographing. The 3rd and 4th eggs were laid on successive lays, so probably an "egg a day"; the 4th egg was laid within a few minutes of 10:45 a.m.; the bird was apparently sitting continuously from at least the time when the 2nd egg was deposited. Nest in nearly upright clump of stems and twigs of Ceanothus cordulatus; rim of nest 950 mm. above ground; tallest sprigs of ceanothus 490 mm. directly above rim. Nest site in middle of rather open clump about 15 feet across, part of a general growth of this chaparral on a gently south-facing hill-slope; 4 big yellow pines and a white fir within a 100-foot radius. Nest itself rather easily seen from head-height in most directions. Male "sings" high in nearby yellow pines. Female always leaves by ducking down and off thru the chaparral on side away from intruder, not heretofore reappearing. Female shot, and nest and eggs (1/4) taken. Eggs show no incubation.

One old male California Purple Finch flew down onto the ground in camp this morning at 7; possibly some of my "Cassins Purple Finches" have been "California's". Yet the songs are appreciably different.

Collector: Grinnell-1925 Location: Mineral Date: June 22 Page Number: 2489

sitting closely, nearly touched before she flew off. Nest 1750 mm out to south of trunk of cedar, which is a small tree, 8 in. diam., growing beneath sugar pine and white fir. Taken; incubation of eggs ^^{well begun. (1/4).}

8:05 a.m. - Mt. Chickadee's nest, with well-feathered young, in old woodpecker (?) hole in barkless broken-off pine stub 2 ft. in diam.; lower edge of entrance, 1950 mm. above ground. Diam. of entrance 40 mm.; ^^{38 mm. nest diam.;} Both old birds are bringing food to young.

Just followed up a song which puzzled me. The producer would stay ^^still, perched 75 to 100 feet up in firs or yellow pines. Sang a sustained, vigorous, dry trill, but dropping toward end. Quietly chipping sparrow like, but this falling at the end made me suspect an orange crowned warbler. The bird, finally seen clearly, was a Chipping Sparrow.

One or more Golden-crowned Kinglets in a clump of young fir. A Solitaire "creaking" in the distance. A Pileated Woodpecker, flying thru the woods, giving its resonant "Kuk" slowly and irregularly in a long series. At least two singing Calaveras Warblers on this dry ridge in vicinity of some smallish black oaks, but singing from all sorts of places, up to 75 feet up in firs and cedars. Tho Ch Calif. Purple Finches in full song nearby.

10:12 a.m. - Solitaire's nest, on level of ground inside a cavity (old burn) in base of ^^living sugar pine 2 1/2 feet in diameter. The four young are wholly

Collector: Grinnell - 1925 Location: Mineral Date: June 22 Page Number: 2490

sheltered within the cavity, the nest being in-set in bark and needle floor right against the charcoal wall. Rim of nest (exposed side) marked by coarse pine twigs and needles, scattering out towards opening of cavity; latter 600 mm. high at peak, 480 mm. wide at base of opening; rim of nest a little higher, about 25 mm., than ground in front. Nest found by watching old birds, with food perching around quietly on stubs of fallen logs and lower branches of big standing trees, finally flying down to side. The yellow thickened corners of mouth and edges of bill loom up a most conspicuous feature of young in shade of cavity. On dry ridge top, open forest of white fir, cedar, yellow and sugar pines.

Saw a Sharp-shinned Hawk in flight from direction of camp, well above tree-tops. One or both of a pair of Evening Grosbeaks were noted repeatedly in a certain section of the woods. Mr. Hoffmann discovered a Hammond(*) Flycatcher's nest^^{(5500 ft. alt.)} fully 90 ft. up on a horizontal sub-branch of a huge sugar pine - of course inaccessible. The birds looked ^^{at that range} and sounded, to me, indistinguishable from the "Wright" Flycatchers I have been getting down here with low brush-built nests. However, only shooting of the birds can settle their identity. I saw one of Hoffman's birds come clear to the ground and flit about in small firs and low snow-brush; yet both of the birds did a lot of foraging fully 100 feet up, in firs and pines.

Collector: Grinnell - 1925 Location: Mineral Date: June 28 Page Number: 2502

her wings. As the [sic] left, in a hurry, the positions of some of the eggs changed; one egg was thrown up the side of the nest a bit. Set taken, 1/9 [See p. 2507]. As previously stated (p. 2481) the nest is on a log, this being old and rotten, flattish on top, even lengthwise hollow or depressed at the point where the nest is. In this longitudinal groove (as it were) is an accumulation of bits of rotten wood, old cone scales, and brown dry last-year's ceanothus leaves. The "nest" is a saucer-shaped depression in this mixture of debris, about 150 mm. across (measured) by 35 mm. deep. About a dozen feathers of the quail enter into the "lining." The whole site is well concealed and protected by the flattened, thorny branches and dead twiggery of the snow-brush which sprawls over the log from the south side. A heavy clump of young firs grows 25 feet to the south and west and serves to shade the place most of the afternoon

Ruby-crowned Kinglet's nest: rim 5180 mm. above ground; in young white fir, 10 inches in diameter 3 ft. from ground; nesting, with practically no attachment on flat mass of fir bough - stem, ^^live twigs and needles beneath. Bough, from bole of tree, slightly drooping, towards southwest - sunny exposure. Nest out on bough 960 mm. from bole, in from extreme end of bough 880 mm. Could be seen from ground only

Collector: Grinnell - 1925 Location: Mineral Date: June 28 Page Number: 2506

per acre. The tract in question is gently sloping toward the south; while there is no water on it, water is within easy reach, at the camp ground spring 100 yards to the east or at the first willow bog 200 yards to the south. The vegetation is mixed conifer and chaparral, the later by area predominating and consisting almost solely of ceanothus cordulatus, so greatly like by many birds because it affords safe nesting places plus (right now) an abundance of insect life. The conifers on it are chiefly firs (white), but there are also lone yellow pines, affording lofty perches, and some incense cedars.

We have seen many other birds on our plot, besides those named on the map - foragers or vagrants from adjacent ground; for example, Calif. Purple Finches, Siskins, and Evening Grosbeaks; and at night, Pacific Nighthawks. One puzzling case is that of Calliope Hummers, of which 4 males have separate distinct "stands" on our plot. The females come onto the plot to forage about the castillejas plentiful in the brush, but as far as we can judge, these females are only visitors, having there [sic] nests off somewhere, probably in the belt of lodge pole pines down along the willow-bogs, where the males do not go. One male has his "stand" one telefone [sic] wire, which crosses our plot near its southern boundary. Beneath