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Jan., i9oi [ THE CONDOR 9 Nesting Habits of the California Shrike Lanius ludovicianus ?ambeli Ridgw. BY WM. L. ATKINSON HE California Shrike is an abund- ant resident in Santa Clara, Co., Cal. where it may be seen at al- most any time by an observing person, perched upon a telegraph pole or the top of some tall tree where it may have a good view of the surrounding country. A grain field containing several large white-oak or live-oak trees is a favorite locality of this bird, and once a pair has selected a location of this kind, nothing short of death will cause them to leave it. A cypress (Jr osage orange hedge is a favored spot for a nest as is also a scrub willow in a grain field or at the roadside. Nest building. is commenced as soon as the weather moderates in the spring --some years earlier than others. My record for my first set of shrikes' eggs for the past six years is as follows: t895 , Feb. 26, six fresh eggs. ?896 , Mar. t9, six fresh eggs. ?897, Apl. t, seven fresh eggs. t898, Mar. 9, six fresh eggs. t899, Apl. ?o, six fresh eggs. ?9oo, Mar. 5, six fresh eggs. The latest date at which I have taken eggs is June t7. I believe that when unmolested the shrike raises at least three broods in a season. If the nest is robbed the birds will immediately start another o?e, near to and sometimes right upon the site of the old nest and in a very short time it will contain a set of eggs. In t894 I took one set of seven eggs, two of six each, one of five and a small boy got anotherof four eggs,--all from a pair of shrikes which had selected an eighty-acre field near my residence for their home. This field contained four white oak trees and one live-oak, and when one nest was collected from them they would immediately repair to the next tree and build again. In this way twenty-?ight egg.? were taken from them, but undaunted they began again and in admiration for their perseverance I left them to build their si:cth nest and hatch their eggs in peace. The n?xt year they were on hand as usual and have ever since been yielding two or three sets yearly to swell the writer's collection. The following is a fair record for one pair of birds for four years,-- 189,5, Feb. _06. Six fresh eggs. Mar. 27 . Seven eggs. Incubation advanced. Apl. 27. Six eggs. Incubation begun. ?$96, Mar. t9. Six eggs. Fresh. Apl. 3. Five eggs. Incubation begun. Apl. ?$. Six eggs. Fresh. May 4. Five eggs. Incubation slight. ?897. Apl. ?. Seven fresh eggs. ?898. Mar. ?6. Six fresh eggs. A total of nine sets or fifty-four eggs. I could have taken at least one ortwo more sets in both ?897 and ?898 had I desired to do so--and during the same length of time the "small boy" got sev- eral sets, so it can be easily seen that the shrike is in no danger of extermina- tion. I know that these eggs were all laid by the same pair of birds because they nested within an eighth of a mile of my residence, so that I was in a position to watch them both in the winter and smnmer. The eggs of this bird all show a great resemblance, as I have before noted (CONDOR ?, 2 9), which helps to'prove the theory of in- dividuality of eggs and also that they were alldeposited by the same bird. This year, ?9oo, I had quite an inter- esting experience with the shrike. On the 5th of March I was out collecting some specimens for skins, and while driving along a country road I noticed a su ;picious looking "bunch" ten feet up