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62 THE CONDOR Vol. XIII them, which consisted of bread crumbs, "garden bugs", and some of the "marsh bugs" before mentioned. On i?Iarch 19, I took both captives again to the marsh for photographs. On the way from the car to the spot selected, a gnat lit on my companion 's finger and upon holding the Black Rail near, she grabbed greedily at the insect. She seemed rather vicious at all times, pecking angrily at anything offered her--sticks, fingers and all. A small, round clump of salicornia, per- haps three feet in diameter, was selected for the background effect, and oper- ations began. The little rail proved the more elusive of the two. She would dive into the dense mass, exactly as a duck dives in water, and would then crouch motionless, as if hiding. The walking positions of the two species were noticeably different. The little Black was always proud, with head erect and no jerky movements while walking, but the Carolina was a typical rail, head down, tail erect, and forever sneaking off sideways as though he were ashamed of himself. Finally on i?Iarch 20, after making what pictures I wanted, I turned the two rails free to roam and search for food and mate at will. Many times later, I searched in vain for the hidden, speckled beauties which the little black mother probably had hidden away somewhere under a sheltering marsh clump, but I never found them. Let us trust they hatched safely into fuzzy youngsters, and were led by their mother through the pro- teeting marsh growth down to the feeding grounds in the muddy beds of tidal streams. If such was the case you may be sure she warned them to look out, at all times, for that fellow who would poke sticks at them as he once had at her, to arouse the spirits of a crestfallen captive into photographic spright- liness San Diego, California, December 13, 1915. THE NUTCRACKERS OF YELLOWSTONE PARK By M. P. SKINNER HE CLARKE Nutcracker, or Clarke Crow (Nucifraga columbiana), is sometimes known as "Camp Robber", possibly because of the rather superficial resemblance it bears to the true camp robber or Rocky iIoun- rain Jay. But his livery is black and white and gray as against the various tones of gray alone, as shown by the jay. In the Yellowstone Park the nut- crackers are everywhere; but where they occur in the large, open prairies and meadows, it is evident that they are only flying across between the heavy ever- green forests. They are never seen in the large flocks reported elsewhere, but are usually found in one's or two's, or perhaps in small flocks of a half dozen. The largest flock reported was made up loosely of twenty-four individuals. While not migratory birds, strictly speaking, they do move up and down the mountains at the change of the seasons. In summer they are at all elevations, but in winter they are all below 7000 feet. One snowy, stormy day they were observed in numbers passing the top of i?It. Sheridan at an elevation of 10,000 feet. The vicinity of !?ammoth Hot Springs and Fort Yellowstone seems to be a center of abundance both winter and summer. A careful estimate gives from twenty to thirty birds as constantly in this neighborhood; but as this bird