Transcribing the field notes of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology

Collector: Grinnell-1925 Location: Mineral, 4800 ft., Date: June 20 Page Number: 2486

6262 Wright Flycatcher (male) ^^{testes [illustration]} 12.5 g 6263 [Wright] [Flycatcher] (female) 12.7 g } mates, with set 2/4. iris ^^dark hazel ^^brown in both.

The female had the abdominal skin thickly glandular, the male not at all - from which I judge that the female does all the sitting; also it was the female which was sitting when I took the eggs. On blowing these eggs appeared perfectly fresh; yet there was an appearance of drying. I suspect that "photography" is disastrous to a good proportion of the subjects - putting an end to incubation by leaving the eggs exposed to the hot sun or by chilling them when the bird is off a long period, "getting accustomed to the camera!"

5:40 p.m. - Mrs. G. has just located a Green-tailed Towhee's nest, containing 3 1/3-grown young, eyes open and alert, but down still predominating. Nest halfway to top of ceanothus cordulatus thicket, in which it is located; rim 520 mm. above ground. Nest supported on slanting stems and appertaining fine twigs of the snow-bush. Mass of nest far less than in fox sparrow; basal loose, coarse layer lacking - more like brown towhee's nest; wall rather thin and compact.

June 21 Heard a Great Horned Owl hooting something during the night.

8:00 a.m. - At Fox Sparrow's nest, found by Mrs. G. several days ago, hardly 75 feet up the slope from our camp-fire place; this is the nest, with two young (now about 1/3 fledged) that Dixon had been photographing. Both parents

Collector: Grinnell-1925 Location: Mineral, 4800 ft. Date: June 21 Page Number: 2487

are exceedingly fearless, probably because they have been accustomed all along to forage about our camp-site. The (male) sings from the ground, from bush-tips, from well up in the pines and fir above - whether a person be at the nest or not. The female is much the more solicitous, and attentive to the nest and young. Right now I am sitting by the nest, my face a little above its level and about 4 feet from it (the rim is 505 mm. above the ground). The female hops all around me, on the ground and thru the bushes. She comes to within a foot of my knee, as close to my shoulder, evidently concerned but not at all alarmed. She has fed the young twice, at 8:12 and 8:14, each time with food-stuffs from within her bill. As she works about me, she is continually picking up very small objects, all the while uttering a faint "seat." She droops the wing-ends, and raises the tail free of the ground; often the tail is turned at an angle sideways, from the axis of the body. The male hops about farther away, 8 - to 10 - foot radius, and utters a much louder, metallic "klink" - then breaks into full song. 8:29 - female just fed young a third time, also swallowed excrement voided by the young. Fed again at 8:31, then inspected nest closely - for excrement, but none was forthcoming. Female has another note, which I at first ascribed to a chipmunk - a low "chuckle", voice-like. Fed again at 8:32 and 8:34, all food being gathered within a radius of ten feet. Young then shaded from the sunshine for half a minute; one

Collector: Grinnell-1925 Location: Mineral, 4800 ft. Date: June 21 Page Number: 2488

young had begun to hold its mouth open pouting. [Interrupted by camper!] This Fox Sparrow's nest rests on a slanting stem of snow-bush with the proper lacework of fine twigs attached. Near at hand are two large Amelanchier bushes; and overhead are two yellow pines and a fir. In construction the nest is typical - large, with abundant loose basement of large objects, bark pieces, section of sticks, etc., the inner wall of soft bark strips and grasses course in texture, not fine as in towhees.

June 22 7:34 a.m. - With ^^Egmont Rett and ^^Ralph Hoffmann up ridge east of Martin Cr. Fox Sparrow's nest, with 3 young that left nest for good when disturbed, in rather low snow flattened thicket of ceanothus cordulatus, on open forest floor, cedar and yellow pines overhead. Rim 140 ft mm. above ground; nest last less bulky than usual, resting on tangle of ceanothus stems and twigs mixed with yellow pine needles, so that there is really no open space between nest and ground. Nest lining of fine round grasses mostly - no bark strips this time. Young are being lolled (?) off in different direction by both old birds, acting separately. Young have hoarse "chirrup" note, uttered rapidly when they are trotting thru the bushes.

8:15 a.m. - Cassin Vireo's nest: rim 1910 mm. above ground in forking twigs near drooping end of branch of incense cedar over open forest floor on dry ridge top. Male was singing overhead, leading me to the site; [female symbol]