16 THE CONDOR [ Vol. IV and sometimes a look into the nest is re- quired to make certain. But the old nests were sometimes a help as we made a close search in their immediate neighborhood and were often rewarded by finding the new one. We found the birds very shy and rarely succeeded in seeing the bird leave the nest--which she did quietly, slipping from the bush on the side farth- est from us. The bird is a very pleas- ing singer but not equal to the Califor- nia thrasher. He sings less frequently and does not often perch on top of the brush during the performance but BY J'. I-l. BOWLES, HIS handsome member of the tanager family is, perhaps the most brilliantly plumaged of all the birds in the northwest. Being an eastern observer, I eagerly looked for- ward to the first acquaintance with this relative of my favorite of the Massachu- setts groves, the scarlet tanager (Piranga erythromelas.) Nor was I disappointed, for in comparing fully plumaged males of both species, although unlike in color in every respect, it would be hard to say which is the more beautiful. For the benefit of eastern readers, it may be as well to make a few compari- sons between the subject of this article and the scarlet tanager. Its habits dif- fer considerably from the latter, as it is principally a bird of the clearings, while erythromelas is more given to the seclu- sion of the woods. Among our northwestern migrants it is almost the last to come and the first to go, appearing in large numbers about the middle of May, and leaving early in September. Although essentially a warm weather bird, the majority seem to pass on to the north of Washington, as it can hardly be called a common bird around Tacoma at any time ex- cepting that of migration. seems to prefer the cover of branch and leaf. The song is rather in a minor strain--B fiat I should say--and has fewer variations than that of his near relative. In company with the thrash: ers were seen many Abert towbees (Pi?ilo aberiO and two unfinished nests and one set of eggs found. A few Le- conte thrashers. (tfari?orhynchus lecon- te O were seen on .the outskirts of the thickets but they seem to prefer the more open and sandy country--the de- sert proper,--with which their light sandy "complexion" har,nonizes. The Louisiana Tanager. (Piran?a ludoviciana.) TACOMA? WASH. Nest building in Washington and Oregon is seldom commenced before the first week in June and is more often de- layed until much later in that month. The earliest set recorded is one of four eggs, incubation commenced, taken on June 4. The latest is a set of three, in- cubation slight, taken on June 28. Both of these sets were taken in Waldo, Ore- gon, by my brother, Mr. C. ?r. Bowles, and both were undoubtedly first sets. The favorite location for the nest is an oak or fir, preferably the latter, on or bordering a prairie. Often, however, a tree is selected on some hillside from which nearly all the large timber has been deared. In position, the nest is invariably on a branch, never in an up- right crotch in my experience. As a rule it is placed at some distance from the main trunk of the tree, usually from six to ten feet and often much more. The height from the ground varies from fifteen to fifty feet, though any above thirty feet may be considered exceptional. In these respects its habits are similar to those of the scarlet tanager, although the latter prefers a more secluded nest- ing place. The nest itself is also simi- lar, with the exception that it is usually a considerably more bulky structure.
