Page:Condor17(5).djvu/35

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SepL, 1915 PROM PIELI? AND STUDY 205 cottonwood stub was found in the Santa Anita C,anyon containing two old woodpecker holes some ten feet from the ground. The Linnets had originally intended to occupy the upper "fiat", but for some reason had abandoned it and had moved below. The cavity was nearly filled with the nesting materials, the five eggs being but about one inch b?low the level of the entrance; the latter was one and ene-half inches in diameter. The excavation was eight inches deep and four in diameter.--D. I. SHEPARDSON, L08 Angeles, California. Late Nesting of the Townsend $olitaire.--On July 16, 1915, I discovered a nest of the Townsend Solitaire (Myadeste8 townsendi) on Bear Creek, in Plumas County about two miles west of the north end of Gold Lake. The nest was built of weed stems and was placed in a crevice of a rock along side of a small waterfall. It was so situated that overhanging and projecting rock sheltered it on all sides except one. Three eggs were in the nest and on July 22 they were still unhatched. The sitting bird was flushed several times. She remained in the near vicinity and each time was soon joined by her mate. Neither bird made the slightest noise; nor was the male bird heard singing although our camp was only twenty yards from the nest. 3?his appears to be the latest recorded nesting date for this species.--H. C: BaYANT, Berkeley, California. A Notable Occurrence of Pacific Divers.--On the 13th of April, 1915, during the prevalence. of a strong west wind at Santa Cruz Island, I came upon a company of at least 200 Pacific Loons ((tavia pacifica) breasting the storm and fishing in the outer surf just off a bold cliff near the West ranch. Fully half of the birds were in spring plum- age, and they afforded a magnificent spectacle,. something in the nature of a naval review, as they rode bow on to the weather or else submarined in relays after smelt. The fleet of divers turned watchful periscopes toward the skyline, and I was obliged to retire behind a parapet of grass before they would relax their vigilance.--W. LEON DAW- SON, ?anta Barbara, California. Late Migration of the Cedar Waxwing.?n June 20, 1914, my brother, W. G. Silli- man of Salinas, had occasion to stay for the night at Bradley, a small town near the southern boundary of Monterey County. While taking a short walk after dinner his attention was attracted by fourteen strange birds perched upon a small cottonwood tree and the fences nearby. While not an ornithologist my brother is fairly familiar with our local birds, yet could not name these. Upon being shown specimens of about twenty birds, he immediately picked out a Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) as being the same as the birds seen at Bradley. He says that there can be no doubt as to their iden- tity. Judging from their actions they were migrants instead of resident birds. I have no winter records for this bird at this particular locaiity.--O. P. SILLIMAN, Cas]?rov/lle, California. Western Gull and Arctic Tern: Corrections of Records.--Through a fortunate acci- dent I was recently able to prevent the published repetition of certain erroneous printed statements concerning the Western Gull (Larus occidentalis) and the Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) in southern California, and the incident suggested the desirability of publishing corrections of the mistaken records. Western Gull. In a list of birds from the vicinity of Los Angeles published some years ago by myself (CoNoOR, ?I, 1900, p. 14) I included this species as occasionally common during the winter, a statement which I am now satisfied was absolutely a mis- take. The point at which these observations were made is some fifteen miles from the ooean. Along the nearby ocean beaches Larus occidentalis is probably the most abund -? ant species of gull; so, seeing gulls flying overhead frequently, and occasionally alight- ing, I included this species as a matter of course. No specimen of occidentalis was se- cured, the few gulls shot proving to be argentatus, and I have never, at that time or since, had any evidence of the occurrence of occidentalis so far from the sea. Larus delawarensis is quite common inland in southern California, as in all probability L. cali- fornicus is also, and I have frequently seen the Herring Gull (L. argentatus) on the up- lands of Los Angeles County at sufficiently close range to render identification certain, but I have never observed occidentalis under such conditions.