IO8 Nests of Californian Birds' he 'describes a nest found by Chas. A. Allen on July to, I$75. It "contained three pure white eggs which measure .89 of an inch in length by .65 in breadth. and the nest was placed on the ground under a bush." The locality is described as an open heathy tract on a mountain side. Subsequent* to this Mr. Brewster pub- lished further observations on this spec- ies by Mr. Allen, dealing with the time of arrival, the song and general wari- ness of the bird. He states also that THE CONDOR I Vol. IV GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. My visits to the home of the rufous- crowned sparrow this year began on March 23 according to my note book. The day was bitterly cold with a north wind, and not conducive to bird investi- gations. At the colony I was greeted by a male on the stone wall and I approached to within fifteen feet. Then its mate came into view and both hopped about in the grass near the sage-brush, allowing me to come within ten feet of them. On going up the hill I saw two more pair but decided HAUI?ITS OF THE? Rt?FOUS-CROWNED SPARROW. the birds depart for the south before winter sets in. In the Osprey (II, p. 27 t897) L. P. Williams describes briefly the nesting of this species in San Ber- nardino Co., Cal., stating that the nests are built under grass tufts, and that four or five eggs are laid, which are "crystalline white" when blown. So far as I can learn this comprises all that has been published on the nesting and habits of the rufous-crowned sparrow.
- Bull 2V. O. Club. IV, p. 47, I879-
they were not yet nesting. The pres- ence of numerous Zonotrichia in the sage made a search for a nest imprac- ticable. I had an excellent chance to' hear and verify one of the songs of Aimophila. It was given frequently,-- a weak song, well expressed by te-aole- tree-e-e, the last note being as long as the three preceding ones. This par- ticular song was not heard so often later in the season. On March 30 a visit to the hillside failed to reveal a single bird, they hav-
