July, 1912 PRESENT STATUS OF THE COLORADO CHECK-LIST OF BIRDS 153 at Coulter and Hot Springs (Cary)--and in the Zuni Mountains, New Mexico. It has also been taken in summer in the San Francisco Mountains, Arizona, and a specimen now in the collection of the Biological Survey was taken at Tres Piedras, New Mexico, July 13, 1892, and undoubtedly represents a bird that bad nested in the vicinity. But all of these breeding birds, from Idaho to Ari- zona and New Mexico, should be referred to the western forin striatulus, and atricapilhts should therefore be dropped froin the list of Colorado breeders and its place taken by slriatuhts. The former remains, however, as a winter visitant to Colorado. Asio flammeus. Sclater withdraws this species from the breeding list, but it should be retained; for a pair seen by A. K. Fisher at Sterling July 27, 1892, lnust be considered as breeding birds. Strix varia. Not given by Sclater in his list of breeders, but if the species is to be admitted at all in the Colorado list it must be as a breeder, since eggs were secured at the same time with the original specimen. Dryobates villosus villosus. Sclater does not include this form in the list of breeders; but the specimens on which the form was introduced into Colorado were nesting when taken. This is also the breeding form of the Arkansas Val- ley as far west at least as Lamar, where a specimen was taken by H. G. Smith June 20, 1904. Passerella iliaca schistacea. Not included in Sclater as a breeder because no nest has been found in Colorado: but as ahnost all the records for the state are in June and July, it seeins almost straining a point to exclude it froin the breeding list. Pipilo aberti. Excluded by $clater. Its claim to a place in the Colorado list rests on a nest and eggs. It would be better to drop the species entirely from the list. Nannus hiemalls. Excluded by Sclater, because there is no specific record of the finding of a nest. There seeins to be reason for doubting that the July birds, seen by Gillette and Cooke, were nesting. Toxostoma bendirei. Should be withdrawn from the list of breeders, for the breeding records of Christie are undoubtedly erroneous. FROl?[ FIELD AND STUDY Position of Mourning Dove Nestlings.-In an article by F.C. Willard entitled "A Week Afield in Southern Arizona," which appeared in TH? CoN?o? for March-April, 1912, there occurs this statement: "The young Mourning Doves always face in the same direction." This may be true of this species in Arizona, but it does not hold good in Iowa, as a few notes made in 1907 will show. The first meution of positions iu nest, bearing date of June 18, refers to doves in a nest situated in an evergreen tree about three feet from the ground, favorably located for making drawings and photographs, aud was visited for tbese purposes when the uestlings were about twelve days old, the boy who found the nest, showing the way. When we fouud them, one young dove faced north, the other south. "When I returned to photograph them both faced south." Three other notes relate to nestlings in our yard that were visited daily. The older of these Mourning Doves was hatched June 17. The first note on this question bears date of June 23: "The parent bird sat with its tail north-by-west, and I expected to find the young facing southeast; but on/? was in that direction aud the other in the opposite direction. It is the first time both of their heads were not together." Again, on June ? 24: "One youngster faced one way and the other in the opposite direction." A note on July 5 mentions that they faced the same way. These are all the notes that were made on this sub.iect: but an impression remians that after June 24 they were more frequeutly fouud facing opposite directions.--A?.rHs^ R. SHERMAN.
