Page:Condor6(3).djvu/26

May, ?9o4[ THE CONDOR 79 use not only saves one the fatigue of blowing by the mouth, but it does the work ?nuch more quickly. It also enables the particular collector to blow his large eggs with small holes--for instance, a large hawk's egg can be completely blown with a I-I6 hole, and with oue of double that diameter they can be emptied in double-quick time. The vital feature of this outfit is a little foot-pump sold by physicians' supply houses, for use with atomizers. It is four by one and one-half inches when closed, and its interior may be used for storage when traveling. From it runs a rubber tube up to the work table, on which lies a pure rubber ice bag closed by a doubly perforated cork, through which are two small glass tubes. One of these is attached to the tube coming from the pump, the other has a tube running to the blow pipe. To use it, insert the fine glass tip into the egg, and pump with the foot. The pres- sure expands the rubber icebag which renders the jet from the blowpipe uniform, steady and continuous, and at the same time the swelling of the bag is a gauge by which one can control his pressure, as it is easy to burst a small egg with this pump. If many eggs are to be blown, one may attach a Y or two, and then two or three persons can work at once from tile same pump. I have been surprised at the extent of my patience in'blowing a large egg, when I did not need to provide the necessary force with my cheeks, and am sure that the result has been for me, better specimens with less labor. Sometimes I have found it well to put a second icebag over the first, thereby doubling the pressure, where two persons are working together.--W. E. S^UN- DERS, London, Ontario. A Sage Sparrow in Boulder County? Colorado.--On March t8, t9o4, I obtained a sam- ple copy of ztmphixpz'za be//i nevadetlsis here on my farm, ten miles north of Boulder. Only the one bird was seen. The A. O. U. Committee requires this species to inhabit the "Great Basin." W.W. Cooke in his research for the material for his "Birds of Colorado" and two "Supplements" could fiud but one record "East of the Front Ranges" viz., a specimen taken by Mr. F. Bond, near Cheyenne, Wyoming."--FaED. M. D?LLE, Lonffmont, Colorado. The Coues Flycatcher as a Guardian of the l?eace.--All who are interested in bird life are acquainted with the pugnacious tendencies of flycatchers. My observations have been principally confined to the Coues flycatcher, probably the most alert and warlike member of the family. During the breeding season, while the female is on the nest, the male may be seen nearby on one of his numerous perches, usually on. the top of some dead tree, where he sits on guard from daylight until dark. Occasionnally he darts off to catch an insect, and at short inter- vals utters his never-changing note, which gives him his Mexican name. This uote is best described in Spanish, and sounds very much like Jose, Jose-Maria. There is no mistaking the bird once you have heard him, for he tells you his Mexican name with proper accent. From the last two syllables he is often called the Jose Maria bird--simply the names of Joseph and Mary in Spanish. The Coues flycatcher is a lively, w/de-awake fellow, and while sitting on his lofty perch he keeps a sharp lookout for any of his numerous enemies who may venture too near his dwelling place. The moment a jay, hawk, squirrel or snake makes its appearance, the flycatcher leaves his perch and pounces upon the intruder, at the same time giving the note of alarm which never fails to bring the female to the sceue. Then there is a snapping of beaks, and a regular whirl of wings and tails about the unwelcome visitor,who is forced to leave the locality faster than he came. With all his warlik& proclivities, the Coues flycatcher has another quality--that of attracting friends--which is equally strong. Among the more timid birds he numbers a host of friends who seem to be conscious of the existing bond, and very readily take advantage of it. My atten- tion was first called to this fact in the Httachuca Mts., Arizona, in t896 , when on my first trip to that section, in company with H. S. Swarth, H. G. Rising, and W. B. Judson. While we were all walking up the canyon above our camp, one of our party found a nest of the plumbeous vireo, on a low branch of an oak, within reach from the ground. We were in the act of taking this nest, which contained a set of eggs, when one of ns observed a nest of the hepatic tenager in another oak, not more than twenty feet distant. Naturally our attention was turned to the new find, when some one else caught sight of still another nest on a branch of the same limb contain- ingthe tanager's. Upon flushing the bird, it proved to be a Cones flycatcher. I was soon up the tree where I could see into both nests, as they were close together on the same level, and each contained eggs. To come to the point for which this paper was written, here on the same limb, not more than four feet apart, was a nest of the Coues flycatcher and one of the hepatic tanager, with a nest of a plumbeous vireo not more than twenty feet from the others. All these nests con- tained tull sets of eggs, showing that nest building had been carried on at the sanle time in all three cases. Naturally we wondered how these three pairs of birds, including the belligerent flycatcher, could get along in perfect harmony, building their nests aud sitting on their eggs side by side. Not until later years did I have opportunity to observe the cause and effect of the