?6 THE CONDOR I Vol. II ing day we returned to Mesa Grande where Prof. Dyche blew the egg and I brought it with me to San Francis'co. It may now be seen in the collection of Mr. H. R. Taylor of Alameda. P. L. GEDNEY. San Francisco. Notes on Some Unusual Sets of [ggs The following are some unusual sets I have taken which may interest the readers of THE CONDOR: I. RUSSET-BACKED THRUSH cichla uslulata.) June ?r, r895, five fresh eggs. Nest made almost entirely of redwood bark and placed among the out-growth of a redwood stump. Boul- der Creek, Santa Cruz Co., Cal. 2. CASSIN'S VIREO (l/ireo solalatins cassini.) June 6;' ?896, sic eggs, incu- bation advanced. Nest composed of leax;es, grasses and stems, and placed in a low tree four feet up. Lexington, Santa Clara Co., Cal. 3- LONG.TAILED CHAT (/cleria vi- tens longicauda). May 27, ?9oo, five eggs, fresh. Nest nmde of leaves and grasses and lined with fine grass. Ag- news, Santa Clara Co., Cal, Collected by Chas. A. Love. 4- CALIFORNIA PARTRIDGE (ophor- tyx cal?brnicus). May 23, ?9oo, two sets taken within 20 yards of each o?ther, one eo.utaining 2i and the other 23 ?eggs, incubation begun. Nests in dry rules, made of same and but poorly, i. concealed. San Francisco Co.,, Cal." 5' CALIFORNIA JAY (/tphelo?oma cal- ifornica.) May r, I9OO?,,two eggs, incu- bation advanced.. Nest made of twigs and moss and lined with hair and grasses. .?-ESTERN LA?K Sv?Am?OW
destes ,fframmacus strtigatus. ) June
I898, two eggs, incubation begun. Nest of grasses and weeds in a small oak. Knight's Ferry, Cal. MILTON S. RAY. Sa?, Francisco, Another Bluejay Incident. In connection with the notes that appeared in the March-April and May-June numbers of the current volume of THE CONDOR concern- ing jays burying food [ would like to m?ntion a curious case of this sort that happened yester- day only a few yards from my creatnery. A Blue-fronted Jay, (Cyanacitta s. ?)?ontalis) was seen to fly to'the ground from a small tree about twenty yards distant with a bay nut in his beak. After fussing around for a short time he chose a spot in the dry grass on a little hillside, either found a hole or made one, and stuck in the nut. After covering it over with a little loose earth he brought several lumps of dirt, one by one, from a radius of several feet, placed them on top of the nut and packed them down well. Satisfied with his work he flea' back toward his tree. ' Before he even reached it, however, a California Jay (/qphelocoma cali- lorntea), which had been watching the proceed- ings from a neighboring bush, flea. down, res- urrected the nut and flew off with it in triumph. By rights there should have been a fight, but there was nc indication of dissatisfaction on the part of the original owner of the prize who al- lowed the thief to carry it off unmolested. The question naturally arises as to why the California Jay should have stolen the nut. There were plenty of them still on the bay trees and lots on the ground under them, all to be had for the gathering. If he liked nut sprouts, worms or wormy flavors he could have waited and taken the chance of digging it up before the depositor thought of it again, br he could have gathered a lot more and buried them him- self. As both kinds of jays eat these nuts fresh, getting at the kernel by hammering the shell with their bills as they hold the nut against a horizontal limb ?ntil it splits open, it appears curious thaz they should bury it at all. it seems as if the Blue-fronted Jay had buried it either to keep it mo'.st for a whileor as a matter of 4?a'Qvision for the future, though these nuts h%:on the ground for a long ttme m a good state ' of preservation, or in fact until they are eaten up by squirrels and birds, or buried by natural processes. it also seems as if the California Jay had stolen the nut either out of pure mis- chief or actual spite. JOSEPH MAILLAIRD, San Geronimo, ?bl., ?o-?, Chas. K: Reed, the ,a, ell known dealer of Worcester, Mass., has issued a very neat and 'compact hand-book on ?he collecting of birds 'and eggs atad the mounting:of birds, mammals and.fishes. The yolume is a handy one an comgis much useful inforniation which will '1? appreciated by ffollecrors. The hand-book may be had on application.
