Page:Condor14(5).djvu/41

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Sept, 1912 FROM FIELD AND STUDY 195 dred feet of a house in the outskirts of Los Angeles. ! believe this is the earliest recorded date of the occurrence of this species in this section in the spring. Zo,?otrichia leucophrys gambeli. Gambel Sparrow. Guy C. Rich saw an adult bird of this species at Hollywood, Los Angeles County, May 14. Pira,?ga ludoviciana. Western Tanager. This bird, al?vays more or less irregular in its movements in this locality, has appeared in the coast district of southern California this spring in unusual numbers and remained considerably later than usual. Antonin Jay noted them daily in his garden in Los Angeles from early April until May 17 and saw a single adult male in the same locality as late as May 21. J.E. Law found them plentiful at Holly- wood until May 14 and Guy C. Rich saw a pair in the same vicinity May 19. In a Los Angeles daily paper dated May 13, the correspondent from Ventura notes the abundance of the species in Ventura and vicinity. De,?droica tow,?sendi. Townsend Warbler. Unusually plentiful in migration this spring. I found it common near Newport, Orange County, May 12, and Antonin Jay found it plentiful in the willow regions near E1 Monte, Los Angeles County, as late as May 18.-- G. WILLETT. Fig. 79. NEST AND EGGS OF SCOTT SPARROW; HUACHU?A MOtJN?AINS? ARIZONA Breeding of the Scott Sparrow.--The mountains of Cochise County, Arizona, are inhabited by very few species of the sparrow family. The fingers of one hand would num- ber them all. The Scott Sparrow (,4bnophila ruiiceps scott 0 is the most common one found really up in the mountains, aside from the Arizona Junco (.lu,wo phaeo,gotu$ palliatu$). These birds are rarely found above 6800 feet altitude, overlapping the zone occupied by the junco, which extends down to about 5800 feet; and are most common on the scantily covered lower ridges and foothills, where scattering oaks, madrona, and scrubby mountain mahogany are the only trees, together with plenty of bear grass and mescal plants. They much prefer slopes with a southerly exposure. During May, their scolding notes and poor little song are to be heard constantly, when one is in the right localities. The birds keep pretty well out of sight, but if the observer will sit down and keep quiet, he will hear the leaves rustle and, by watching, presently see one hopping along, in and out among the bunches of grass and dead brush. At such times they may be seen chasing one another about like a pair of Canyon Towhees, uttering a similar chattering note.