BULLETIN OF THE COOPER ORNITHOLOGICAL CLU- 85

had the form of a nest although I had to put it in a box to prevent it from falling to pieces. It is composed most- ly of feathers and hair with 'a little gray moss and I also noticed a number of Steller's Jay's feathers in it. It meas- ures four and a half inches across and about one inch deep and resembles nothing so much as a handful of floor- sweepings, epecially the kind we sweep from the floors of our skinning rooms. Besides this nest I found two others. In one case I broke into the hollov but no eggs were to be seen, so the parents deserted on account of the exposure of their home. This hollow was about 2o feet from the ground. The third nest contained young and was 40 feet up. Black Oystercatcher on lnacapa Islands. N' June 4, 899, we dropped anch- or near the southern end of Ana- capa Island and prepared to go ashore and collect, although it was al- ready late in the day. While we were getting ready, a shrill xvhistle was heard, followed by a loud clattering noise, and as we looked up, two large, dark-colored birds flew past and lit on a rock near by, still keeping up their noisy clamor. Their bright red bills and shrill notes easily established their identity as Black Oystercatchers, though we had hardly expected to see any on the islands. We got into the skiff and started to row around the

island in search of a landing place, 

from which we could reach the top of the island, no easy job anywhere , and appearing from the boat almost imposs- ible. We had not gone very far when two Oystercatchers were seen on some rocks. They allowed us to come with- in shooting range and I dropped one with each barrel, one falling dead on the rocks, while the other, only wound- ed, fluttered into the water. Although there was a strong current and a heavy swell running,'the wound- ed bird swam easily and sxviftly to an- other clump of rocks fifty or sixty feet away, upon which it clambered and then fell exhausted. It was a matter of no little difficulty to retrieve either of the birds, and without a strong, exper- ioncod boatman it would have been im- possible to have brought the boat close enough to the rocks for a person to jump out an<t in, without having the boat dashed to pieces. Both birds were retrieved without accident, however, and we went on in our Search for a landing. Before long we saw another Oystercatcher in a similar place to the others, which was also secured. This bird was so unsuspicious that we were within thirty feet of it before we saw it, and were obliged to row further away before it could be shot. These were all that we saw for the day, but on June 6, when we rowed along the other two islands of' the group, six or eight of 'the birds were seen; all, however, in place5 where it xvoutd have been unsafe to have' taken the skiff. All the birds were in pairs, except one that I shot, but on dissect- ing the three that I secured (a male and two females) it Was evident that they were not breeding.' All the birds that were seen were very tame and un- suspicious and paid very little attention to us. The crops of the-three birds se- cured were filled with small mussels and they were all extremely fat.

H. S. SWARTH, Los Angeles, Cal. 

   Additional otes on the Birds of Santa Cruz Island, Cal. ITH much interest I. read Mr. Jos. Mailliard's 'article on.. the birds of Santa Cruz Island in the May-June number of the BULLETIN, and finding his experience diffefed from mine in some particulars, I submit a few notes taken principally on the west end of the island in May, x897. On June 5, x895, I visited Scorpion Harbor for a few hours and landed on the square-looking rock mentioned by Mr. Mailliard. In addition to the breed- ing gulls and cormorants (Farallone and Baird's), there were many burrows of Cassin's Auklet which contained heav- ily incubated eggs or young birds. On the west end of the island there is an open, rolling stretch of land running back from the cliffs .along shore. On this mesa the Horned Larks were aboundant. While. they were {all in

pairs and nesting, the nests were found