May, t9oo I THE CONDOR 59 When the Jays are actually destroy- ing a crop of peas or corn, I have learned to poison a good many by coat- ing some of the grain with a thin solu- tion of glue into which strychnine has been stirred and scattering this on the surface of the field. They will pick up a grain or two now and then, and it does not take many to prove fatal. This can only be done with large grains like peas or corn, as otherwise a great many other birds would suffer also. Even then a number of coons, skunks etc., eat the dead jays and pay the penalty. However this system of poisoning is only resorted to when a matter of absolute necessity to save a crop. It is worthy of note that the Blue- fronted Jays, in the instance of robbing the pea fields, are as numerous as the California Jays, while two or three weeks later, or in the middle of April, the former will have nearly all disap- peared, while the latter remain numer- ous all through the breeding season. The Blue-fronted Jays apparently scat- ter widely among the heavily timbered hills and breed in tile thick clumps of bay, or ill the tall firs and redwoods, re- turning with their young to the bottom lands, however, in ample time to destroy as much fruit in our small family or- chards as they possibly can. JOSEPH MAH,LIARD. San Geronimo, Marin Co., Cal. Nest and fillIs of the California Creeper. Having noticed but little definite in? formation concerning the nesting of the California Creeper ((?rth[a f. occiden- talis), I submit the following notes on a nest and five eggs which were collected for me by Mr. Loren E. Taylor of Fyffe, Cal. The California Creeper is a sum- ruer resident of the redwood belt of the Coast Range of California, as also of the great pine region of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in both of which localities it is to be classed as common. Never- theless, the eggs have remained scarce in collections for years, owing to the fact that the nest is a difficult one to lo- cate in the forest, and as with many other species, it is most successfully found by watching the bird carrying building material. On April t6, x898 , Mr. Taylor ob- served a pair of Creepers building in a crack of a dead pine stub about three feet from the ground and six inches back from the surface. The nest with its five eggs were collected on April 3 by Mr. Taylor who kindly presented them to me. The nest was simply a mat of fine cedar bark with which was mixed a few feathers, and measures about five inches long by two inches across and a depth of one and one-half inches. The eggs have a white ground color and are liberally spotted with flakes and confluent blotches of redaish-brown, nearest the large ends, with. underlying shell markings of lavender. The eggs measure .6ox.48, .58x.47, .58x.46, .57 x
46 and .57x.45 inches. This set is now
in the possession of Miss Jean Bell of Ridley Park, Penn. C. BARLOW. To those of our readers who appreci- ate a "thing of beauty" in typographical art, we recommend Xunset, a beautifully printed and illustrated magazine issued by the Southern Pacific Company monthly. Sunset is probably tile finest printed magazine on the Pacific Coast, each number being replete with half- tones of California's resources which are entertainingly embellished by the p?ns of gifted contributors. Sunset is a pleasure to look at and to read, and those interested should address E. H. Woodman, Editor, 4 Montgomery St., San Francisco. MR. Cm?,s. A. Mom)v of the South- ern Division has two delightful essays on the wild flowers of California in the February and March numbers of the and of.?unshine, both of which reflect Mr. Moody's intimate knowledge of botany.
