half way down the cañon wall, the bed of which has been cast in andesitic lava, and the volume of whose water discharge is recorded in pumice stone.

These events probably belong, however, to miocene and pliocene times, and the topography of this region in those periods-the course of the rivers and the configuration of the country must for the most part remain unknown.

Topographic changes of quarternary times are, however, much more easily traced. The mass of glacial ice necessary to carry the great boulder described above to its present resting place would change the whole drainage of the park. The waters of the Upper Yellowstone and of the numerous tributaries of the lake would be forced across the low continental divide to the south and become tributary to Snake river and the Pacific, or otherwise to some of the western branches of the Missouri.

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A COLLECTOR'S NOTES ON THE BREEDING OF A FEW WESTERN BIRDS.

BY E. HOLTERHOFF, JR.

THE "HE bird fauna of the country lying east of the Mississippi river, has been for years exhaustively studied and written about by the resident naturalists scattered over its entire surface; but the great expanse of territory lying west of that river has been comparatively little studied, and offers for the naturalist the greatest attractions. Especially is this the case in those territories, where, until the past few years, the military posts of the Government, and a few trading posts, constituted the sole settlements of the white man. Now, however, the advent of a resolute mining population has opened out much new country which will steadily continue to develop, and as population pours in, there will come some eager and able to investigate and make known its treasures of natural history.

It was with great satisfaction that I found myself in Southern California, in the spring of the present year, and at the commencement of the breeding season of its birds. And although I was called away by the first of April, and unable to study any but the earliest in breeding, yet a month later I was able to continue my studies and collections in the vicinity of Tucson, A. T., and in a

still better field. And although not in the field as much as I could have desired, the results of my collections amply repaid me, and intimated how much more could be developed by continuous and extended search.

The hawks are very numerous in the vicinity of Los Angeles, Cal., and are represented by many species, the most common of which is the western red-tail hawk (Buteo montanus). This large and beautiful hawk is very little different from its eastern congener, the B, borealis, being slightly larger and with some differences in markings. Its nests and eggs are scarcely distinguishable from those of the eastern species: the nest in situation, however, is more accessible and less concealed, owing to the scant and low growth of timber. This consists of sycamore, cottonwood, and oak trees of several varieties, and does not offer the protection of our eastern and northern forests. Another western variety of an eastern species, the western red-shouldered hawk (Buteo elegans), is quite common, and several nests were observed, one in a willow tree not twenty feet from the ground, was quite thickly lined with pappus from the willow, which was likewise scattered about the nest generally. The eggs, three in number, were similar to those of the Eastern species, being of a dusky white ground color, marked with large red blotches. The brown hawk (Buteo insignatus), is not rare, although not seen so often as either of the former, owing to its frequenting quiet secluded places. A pair of these birds took possession of an old last year's nest which I had examined once and found old and deserted; and, after slightly repairing the inside, and lining it with green mistletoe, proceeded to lay their eggs. Riding by the nest shortly after, I observed the bird sitting on it and secured both bird and eggs; the latter, three in number, of a faint greenish white tinge, and marked with a few large, dark red blotches around the larger end. Out of the many other varieties of hawks, some of which I could not determine, I did not succeed in finding any breeding, excepting the little sparrow hawk (Tinnunculus sparverius), which is everywhere abundant, and whose eggs are familiar all over the country.

Among the owls, the great horned owl (Bubo virginianus var. pacificus), is quite common and I found several nests rather late, and all with young birds in. The barn owl (Strix pratincola), together with the long-eared owl (Otus wilsonianus), I found

in great numbers on the northern slopes of the foot hills, where in the dark shades of the thick growth of live oak, they found an abode well suited to them. The long-eared owl nested in great numbers in the oak trees, building a clumsy nest of coarse sticks and twigs lined with grasses, and laid from four to six dirty white. eggs. The barn owl, while it remained in these thickets during the day, resorted more commonly to the bottom lands to breed, where in the hollow trunks and branches of the sycamores, it found its favorite resting places. Its eggs, also of a dirty white color, are not much larger than those of the long-eared owl, although the bird is considerably larger. The little burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) is very abundant, inhabiting the deserted holes of the California ground squirrel, with which, as with the prairie dog, it seems to live in harmony. They had not yet commenced breeding when I left the vicinity of Los Angeles, or at least I found no eggs in the several burrows which I dug up. The mottled owl (Scops asio) breeds here, as a friend of mine found a set of four eggs, and captured the bird on the nest, but the bird keeps close in the hollow trees and can scarcely be scared from its retreat or nest, and thus escapes observation. Later, in Arizona, I observed several times a very small owl which I was unable to identify or procure a specimen of

One of the earliest birds to nest in the vicinity of Los Angeles, was the white-rumped Shrike (Collyrio excubitoroides). It is quite abundant, and owing to the brightness of its plumage, and the absence of many of the migratory birds which had not yet returned from the South, is very noticeable. I found quite a number of nests of this bird, all placed in low trees or bushes, and compactly built of small sticks and grasses, and lined thickly with the pappus from the Baccharis, a species of Compositæ. The eggs are very similar to those of other shrikes and are well known. Another early breeder is the California jay ( Cyanocitta californica). This bird is also numerous and with all the traits of the blue jay, is not near as handsome a bird. It builds its nest in a thick tree or bush, and while it resembles that of the blue jay, it never has mud in its construction. The eggs, varying in number from four to five, are very handsome, being of a rich emerald green color. and marked with numerous dark brown spots, thicker around the larger end. The California sickle-bill (Harporhynchus redivivus), a thrush whose liquid melody of song may favorably com

pare with that of the mocking-bird, is a resident by no means rare in Southern California. It is, however, very shy and plunges abruptly into the nearest bushes on being approached or disturbed. It nests, after the fashion of all its family, in low trees or bushes, near the ground, and preferably in a thicket or secluded place. The only nest with eggs that I found was at Cotton, Cal., a short time after leaving Los Angeles. It was situated in a low elder tree, and was composed of coarse twigs and grasses, and lined. with fine rootlets; resembling the nests of others of the Harporhynchus family, it was not so large as any of them. The three eggs, which constituted the complement, were well incubated. They were of a light pea-green color, marked quite thickly at the larger end with dark brown spots of a considerable size, and were rather elongated. Some weeks later, on the Colorado desert, at a station called Flowing Wells, I found a nest and two eggs of the LeConte's thrush (Harporhynchus lecontei), a variety of the H. redivivus, according to Dr. Coues. It is a smaller and lighter colored bird than H. redivivus, and its nest and eggs are considerably different. The nest was placed in a palo verde tree and was a very bulky affair, measuring externally nine inches in depth and six in width; the hollow of the nest was fully three inches in depth. It was so awkwardly situated that much of the base of the nest had evidently been filled in to firmly support the structure. The two eggs were somewhat smaller than those of H. redivivus, lighter in color and marked all over with finer reddish spots, thicker at the larger end.

Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus is the long name given by scientists to a very odd little creeper wren which is peculiar to the south-western States and Territories. The cactus wren, so called from its habit of nesting in the cactus whenever available, is stationary in its habitat, keeping together in little flocks during the winter and separating early in the spring into pairs. They are very early breeders, numerous dates in February being given for the finding of nests and eggs. It was the tenth of April, however, before I succeeded in finding a nest with, eggs, but shortly after I found nests containing large young ones. Their nests are worthy of notice, for they have no resemblance to the nests of any other birds in our fauna. They are shaped somewhat like a retort, and are laid on the branches or between the forks of a cactus. The body of the nest is rounded, often as large as a man's head,

and composed entirely of grasses well interwoven and lined thickly with feathers. The entrance is by a long funnel-shaped passage on one side and at the top of the nest, and varying in length from six to ten inches. The lining of feathers is very thick and is comprised of feathers of many birds. Dr. Heerman, an old time ornithologist, has said that he would often tear open the nest of a cactus wren to ascertain what birds were in the vicinity. The number of eggs in a full complement is almost invariably five; occasional nests with three or four well-incubated eggs constituting the only exceptions. The eggs are of a pale salmon color, marked so thickly and evenly with darker salmon color as to give a very rich cast to the whole egg. While the bird commonly seeks the cactus to build its nest in, sometimes when this is scarce, it will build in a mesquite or other tree, and in this case almost always at a considerable height-ten to twenty feet. I am told that this bird raises a brood as late as August, and if it does, as I have no reason to doubt, it then breeds continuously during a period of six months. In that time one pair could raise five or six broods, but it is not likely that they make a new nest as soon as one brood is fully fledged.

A very common bird from the mountains to the coast, in California, is the brown towhee (Pipilo fuscus). These plainly colored finches, although pre-eminently ground birds, nest in low bushes or scrub trees, contrary to the habits of the family. A nest, found shortly before leaving Los Angeles, was placed between the forks of a prickly pear cactus, and contained four eggs of a light blue color, marked with lines and dots around the larger end, resembling the eggs of some blackbirds. The nest was composed of grasses and fibers from the bark of the cactus, and lined with horsehair. There are two other species of the same genus and somewhat resembling this bird, which I afterwards found breeding in Arizona, the Abert's finch (Pipilo aberti) and the canon finch (Pipilo mesoleucus). They also are tree or bush builders, and there is a similarity between the nests and eggs of all three. The Abert's finch built a somewhat larger and not as neat a nest as the others, composed entirely of grasses and lined with a few horsehairs. The eggs, larger than either of the others, were of a light blue color, marked with numerous black lines and spots in a ring around the larger end, and also with a number of bright red spots. The canon finch, nesting in the same situations,