38 THE CONDOR [ Vol. IV rocks beyond the limits of the camp. On a previous trip in July, when the thermometer registered x2o degrees in the shade and the rocks were so heated that one could not hold the bare hand upon them, these birds worked over them ag unconcernedly as in winter. On October 28 I saw a western black phcebe (Sayornis ni?ricans semiatra) in a side canyon close to camp. On the 29th several juncos (funco hyemalis thurberi) flew from the rear of the store when I approached, where they had been inspecting some sweep- ings and went up the same side canyon. This same side canyon, by the way, was the only place where I succeeded in getting specimens of this bird. They would keep along the bottom of this wash beyond reach, but by concealing myself and firing one barrel of the gun the echoes would so confuse the birds that one was sure to fly within range of the other barrel. The juncos were in camp every day of my stay but I never saw more than six at one time. October 30 I saw two intermediate sparrows, (Z. 1..?ambeli) at the outlet of kitchen drain. They would dodge under a flat-grox?ing weed a few feet away and peer out. If I made no motion, one of them a young bird of the year with brown stripes on the crown, would come out and hop about the moist spot, but the old bird with white stripes was always shy, in fact I only saw it for one day, although the other remained ten days. The store- keeper called my attention to a wren that had come in the open door and caged itself among the rafters. It had no white superciliary stripe, so I took it to be the Parkman wren. Nov. ?, three ravens (Corvus corax sinuatus) flew along just under the top of the ridge south of camp. Once after that I saw two others flying along the same route, and again on Nov. x x when they changed their couxse and flew down the side canyon,-over the mule corral and the 'mexican quarter and back again, resuming their westward flight along the ridge. Nov. 2, a Say phoebe (Sayoruis saya) remained about camp all day and again on the x3th I saw it on the slope of the southern ridge. A small hawk, about twice the size of our desert sparrow hawk circled over camp twice and then departed towards the river through the reservoir gap. On the ?3th, a mourning dove (Zenaidura macroura) came swiftly up the gulch, alighted at the drain a few moments, and departed as quickly in the direction of the river. In July I have seen several turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) sail over camp, coming from the river and going towards the Golden Cross mine, where a horse or mule is sometimes hauled out for them to feast upon, a rather difficult task in this dry region where a carcass is more apt to dry up than to decay. The above includes all the birds seen in the desolate region men- tioned, during over three weeks obser- vation. On Nov. 4 I drove down to the pump- ing plant situated at the other end of the pipe line, on the California side of the Colorado River, one and one-half miles above the Mexican boundary and some ten miles below Yuma. No birds were seen until among the brush- studded sand dunes which lie between the real desert and the rank growth of the moist river bottom. Here a lot of phainopeplas (Phainofiela nilens) had congregated on the palo verde and mesquite which grew in the washes. We arrived at the plant at dusk, and in order not to disturb the domestic ar- rangements of the engineer, spread our blankets on the sand among the ntes- quitetnear the river bank. The next morning, (Nov. 5,) at first streak of dawn I was awakened by a tremendous clucking and chatter, conting from the other side of the clump of mesquite, not ten feet away. It proved to t)e a flock of forty to fifty gambel partridges (Lofihortyx ?ambeli) on their morning foray along the river bank. There was no sleep after that, so I spent a couple
