JULY, ?9o31 THE CONDOR 8 9 quicker, white-necked ravens. The attack was vigorous. not to say vicious, with quick repeated blows and pecks till the feathers flew. From start to finish the big birds sought only to escape, but this seemed impossible. They pounded the air in vain effort to out-fly their tormentors, dove to the ground but were forced to take wing again, circled and beat and tacked-to no purpose, and finally began mounting steadily in big cir- cles, taking their punishment as they went, the smaller birds keeping above and beat- ing down on them in succes- sion till all were specks in the sky, and finally lost to view. Such a drubbing I never saw a smaller bird inflict on a larger, before or since, and it was probably well deserved. The nests of the white-necked ravens are unprotected from above and eggs are said to be a delicacy to any raven. Be that as it may, the breed- ing grounds of the two spec- ies rarely conflict, sinuatus keeping to the tall cliffs and mountains and apparently for good reasons rarely en- tering the nesting valley of cryptoleucus. Notes on the Bird Conditions of the Fresno District ? j. M. MILLER A LARGE portion of the San Joaquin Valley has undergone so rapid a change during the past twenty years that the conditions of bird life there have been practically revolutionized. The typographical features which at one time favored or discouraged bird life have disappeared and new features present the conditions for a different and more varied fauna. This change has been due to artificial irrigation. Large areas where formerly only the bare plain stretched away without a tree in sight for miles are now covered with orchards, vineyards and thriving alfalfa fields and dotted with homes and shade trees. This rapid transition presents a field for local study which has never been thoroughly covered. The early prairie-like conditions of the plain before the advent of the big irri- gation systems favored only a decidedly limited fauna both in species and hum-
