Transcribing the field notes of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology

Collector: Grinnell - 1925 Location: Mineral Date: June 22 Page Number: 2490

sheltered within the cavity, the nest being in-set in bark and needle floor right against the charcoal wall. Rim of nest (exposed side) marked by coarse pine twigs and needles, scattering out towards opening of cavity; latter 600 mm. high at peak, 480 mm. wide at base of opening; rim of nest a little higher, about 25 mm., than ground in front. Nest found by watching old birds, with food perching around quietly on stubs of fallen logs and lower branches of big standing trees, finally flying down to side. The yellow thickened corners of mouth and edges of bill loom up a most conspicuous feature of young in shade of cavity. On dry ridge top, open forest of white fir, cedar, yellow and sugar pines.

Saw a Sharp-shinned Hawk in flight from direction of camp, well above tree-tops. One or both of a pair of Evening Grosbeaks were noted repeatedly in a certain section of the woods. Mr. Hoffmann discovered a Hammond(*) Flycatcher's nest^^{(5500 ft. alt.)} fully 90 ft. up on a horizontal sub-branch of a huge sugar pine - of course inaccessible. The birds looked ^^{at that range} and sounded, to me, indistinguishable from the "Wright" Flycatchers I have been getting down here with low brush-built nests. However, only shooting of the birds can settle their identity. I saw one of Hoffman's birds come clear to the ground and flit about in small firs and low snow-brush; yet both of the birds did a lot of foraging fully 100 feet up, in firs and pines.

Collector: Grinnell - 1925 Location: Mineral Date: June 24 Page Number: 2495

in that each has scattering ^^fine dots, mostly about the big end, of dark brown. The [female symbol] on the nest allowed me to get my hand within 2 feet of her, as I had an excellent view, proving her ^^{to be} wrighti. Her tail is abnormal in that only two old feathers remain, the nest being new and only about 2/3 grown out. The nest is usual size and construction and nests chiefly within the forks of the main ceanothus stem which is 5/8 in. thick just below the forking. Taken nest + 3/4 + [female symbol] ^^parent. 9 a.m.-- Mr. Hoffmann shot a (female) Three-Toed Woodpecker at 6:20 this morning out of a dead stub on ridge (Viola trail) hardly 10 minutes walk from camp, therefore not higher than 5200 ft.! 10:30 a.m. Hoffmann and I up Viola Trail at about 5500 ft. listening to Hammond (?) [sic] Flycatcher on chosen singing perch, which is very topmost snag-end of dead-topped fir. Estimated height from ground 135 feet. Bird plainly seen - breast to sun, appearing white. Bird continually shifts body, most frequently head, from side to side. Head thrown back with utterance of notes. Complete "song" has three elements: se-'put [uttered rapidly], taur-r-rp [roughly burred], tseep´ [rising inflection]. More of interval between first and second than second and third. Sometimes second and third interchanged. At camp - a Citellus douglasi, the first ground squirrel I have seen around Mineral, appeared on our "feeding log" this afternoon. It was a [female symbol] (teets showing) and she filled her cheek pouches bulgingly before she went off ^^{thru [sic] the snow-bush.}

Collector: Grinnell - 1925 Location: Mineral Date: June 26 Page Number: 2497

out) up 35 feet or so, on trunk of cedar; fed by both parents. Sierra Hermit Thrushes in full song - 4 in hearing at once, day clear and perfectly quiet.

7:40 a.m. - Watched a [female symbol] Hermit Warbler. When first seen, she was fluffing herself, and attacking generally as tho just off a nest. A male was singing at frequent intervals from fir and sugar pines overhead. She proceeded to forage, from the sprays of little fir close to the ground; then down into a snow-bush thicket, then actually on to the ground, continually picking at foliage or litter, and now and then uttering a sharp "tsip." Finally she went off thru young firs, and was lost to view.

A pair of Canada Nuthatches foraged within 20 feet of us, on fallen logs among snowbush; each kept uttering low conversational notes "Tiys" - but not the nasal note until after flying off to the big tree trunks.

8:45 a.m. - Just shot a Pygmy Nuth Hammond Flycatcher from 2/3 the way up a all red fir in canyon at about 6500 ft. alt. It was singing precisely like the one Hoffmann & I heard (see p. 2495). There is no doubt now in my mind but that hammondi is a bird of the tall timber of Canadian zone, and keeps well up in trees, singing from the loftiest perches.

Also shot a singing Golden ^^(?) Pileolated Warbler from batch of snow-depressed white alders growing along the stream. Can hear a Cassin Vireo up on the ^^{warmer ridge.}

Collector: Grinnell - 1925 Location: Mineral Date: June 26 Page Number: 2498

9:14 a.m. - Just flushed a [female symbol] Sierra Grouse from the trail, and then from the brush adjacent two young, well enuf feathered so that they flew strongly. The [female symbol] went up into a fir 25 feet or so, and did considerable clucking, and then a [male symbol] "boonted" from unknown distance and direction. Heard another female clucking (sympathetically?) about 50 yards down the slope. Brush here is chinquapin and snow-bush.

9:35 a.m. - Modoc Hairy Woodpecker nest, young just leaving (one caught) and [female symbol] parent frantic; lower lip of opening 3540 mm. above ground; in dead-hearted, otherwise living, lodgepole pine a foot in diameter at base growing with others around swale in ridge top - Arctostaphylos nevadensis all about. Old [female symbol] gives long series of loud chuckling notes, hoarse and coaxing; young one, now perching vertically against stem of little pine with head and neck stretched up straight and depressed against stem, keeping perfectly quiet. When routed out, young one gives loud "spink." This is at about 7000 ft. alt. Just shot a full-grown juvenal Lutescent Warbler from tip of lodgepole pines. It came with chickadees, Kinglets, and other birds that responded to the hubbub of the woodpeckers.

10:30 a.m. - Turned back and now close to where Hammond Flycatcher was shot, at 6500 ft. Just shot an Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker (male, with

Collector: Grinnell - 1925 Location: Mineral Date: June 26 Page Number: 2499

glandular abdomen and hence sitting) from bole of red fir about 60 feet up. It was actively pecking at the fissured bark and dislodging tufts of the conspicuous yellow lichen which grows profusely on the trunks of some of the trees. Saw also a Red-breasted Sapsucker, and punctured red fir in the vicinity. Can hear from this point: Solitaire, Tanager, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Mt. Chickadee, Canada Nuthatch, Warbling Vireo, and Audubon Warbler. Saw a [female symbol] Calliope Hummingbird at snow-plant (Sarcodes); these plants now coming up commonly under red firs and of brilliant colors.

6265 Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker [male symbol] testes [illustration] [therefore long past functioning] wt. 73.5g.; iris dark hazel brown. Note "spurious" outer ^^(?) tail feathers!

6266 Hammond Flycatcher [male symbol] testes [illustration]; wt. 10.2g. [see p. 2497].

6267 Pileolated Warbler [male symbol] wt. 7.1g. [see p. 2497].

6268 Lutescent (?) Warbler [female symbol] jv. wt. 7.8g. [see p. 2498].

5:00p.m., at camp: collected a set of four eggs 4/4, nest and female parent, of Wright Flycatcher. Rim of nest 1130mm above ground; nest on nearly upright stem of snow-bush, supported in part by accessory twiggery; 600 mm. more of snow bush, living leafy branch, above nest. Site in sea of snowbush on gently sloping hillside; two tall cedars 75 feet away, nearest trees; but firs and pines farther away. Eggs nearly fresh;