Page:Condor15(2).djvu/42

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92 THE CONDOR Vol. XV cliff overhanging the ocean. A nest was' found on Anacapa which contained a single addted egg. Vermivora oelata sordida. Dusky Warbler. Very abundant in the wooded parts of Santa Cruz Island. 8alpinctes obsoletus obsoletus. Rock Wren. Adults and full-grown young seen on the rocky slopes of Santa Barbara. Also noted on Anacapa. Thryomanes bewicki nesophilus. Santa Cruz Island Wren. Common among the fallen pines on Santa Cruz. Young just able to fly were seen. One nest, containing four eggs on the point r?f hatching, was found in a hole in the canyon wall, about seven feet up, made of sticks and feathers. Psaltriparus rainlinus californieus. California Bushtit. One flock seen in the brush on Santa Cruz Island on July 7. FI?OM FIELD AND STUDY Late Fall Occurrence of the Black-headed Grosbeak.--On November 23, 1912, I took a specimen of the Black-headed Grosbeak (Za?nelodia meIanocephala) at Riverside, California. The occurrence is of interest on account of the date, which is so far from the ordinary movement of this species in California, as well as from the fact that the bird is in full autumnal plumage. So far as I have been able to learn, with the courteous assistance of Mr. J. Grinn?11, there is no published account of the bird's having been taken in the United States other- wise than in the breeding or in the first juvenal plumage. The specimen at hand is not in either of these plumages, and appears fresh and unworn. Beebe in "Two Bird Lovers iu Mexico" speaks of the grosbeaks in their dull winter plumage looking like large sparrows; but so far as I can learn, the fall plumage is not familiar to many CONDOR readers. The specimen was a female with well developed ovaries, which would suggest that the bird had passed one .breeding season and might be considered an adult. Mr. Grinnell offers the suggestion that in this species first-year individuals ?nay perhaps be subject to a period of autumnal sexual activity, as is probably the case with certain of the resident species of the southern part of the state. The female in hand may thus be a bird of the year. It seems now impossible to state with certainty that the bird is either adult or juvenal. The plumage is notable for the rich tan suffusion of the breast, the obscuring of white spots by buffy feather tips, the fact that spots have not been lost by sloughing off of barbs such as occurs in worn plumages of the species, and that the upper tail-coverts bear indis, tinct transverse bars. The specimen has been deposited in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology of the Univer- sity of California and may be referred to as no. 23431 of the collection of that institution.-- LoY? MILLER. The Results of Some I?iscellaneous Stomach Examinations.--The following notes on the results of stomach examinations of several different species of birds should be of interest. The stomach contents does not represent in all cases the usual kinds of food' taken by the species. The greater interest generally attaches to the unusual It is important that both the usual and the unusual articles of diet be known. Por=ana noveboracensis. Yellow Rail Rincon Valley, Sonoma County, California, November 17, 1912. Stomach contained 18 dover seeds (Triolium sp.) and grass. ?irchibuteo ferrugineus. Ferruginous Rough-leg. Cotati, Sinroma County, California, November 25, 1912. Stomach .contained seven meadow mice (Microtus caliornicus). This appears to be the first definite record of a Fe?:ruginous Rough-leg taken within the state fo'r a number of years. Bubo virginianus pacit?cus. Pacific Horned Owl. Berkeley Hills, Berkeley, California, December 15, 1912. Stomach contained two meadow mice (Microtus caliornicus) and 27 Jerusalem crickets (StenopeImatus sp.). Geococcyx californianus. Roadrunner. San Diego, San Diego County, California, Sep- tember, 1912. Stomach contained a large horned toad (Phrynosoma blainvillei blainvHlei). ChordeiIes virginianus hesperis. Pacific Nighthawk. Dutch Flat, Placer County, Cali- fornia, August 22, 1912. Stomach comained 1 wood-boring beetle (Elaphidion sp.), 17 wood-boring beetles (Criocephalus agrestis), 3 click-beetles (Elateridae), 3 curculios (Bal- aninus sp.), 3 metallic wood-boring beetles (Melanophila sp.), 1 grasshopper, 16 moths, 3