Page:Condor11(2).djvu/35

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Mar., 1909 of mine (p. 170) pertaining to Pinicola enucleator montana (Rocky Mountain Pine Grosbeak). Furthermore, Mr. Rockwell makes it appear by the omission of any name in connection with the record that the record was made by himself. On July 3, 1898, the date on which he records the specimen on South Mamm Peak, Mr. Rockwell was not in that locality; for upon that date I was with him on what was at that time known as the Ballantine and Rockwell Ranch, a distance of about twenty-two miles from South Mamm Peak. The Grosbeak under discussion was shot by me on South Mamm Peak on July 8, 1898, instead of July 3 as reported by Mr. Rockwell, and was subsequently shown to him. It is still one of the specimens in my collection.--A. H. EEL- OER, Denver, Colorado,' February 8, 1909. Dendroica townsendi in Pasadena.--Townsend Warblers were common at my home in Pasadena during January, 1909. Ordinarily one or two is allI have seen during the winter, and sometimes none at all. This year, for some cause, they are abundanL No Varied Thrushes have been seen or heard in the vicinity of Pasadena this winter. It would be interesting as in previous seasons to ascertain thru the columns of TI-IE CONDOR the dis- tribution of this bird. Robins, bluebirds, and other winter visitants seem to be present in about their usual num- bers.--WALTER P. TAYLOR, Pasadena, California. The Zone-tailed Hawk in California.--l?uteo abbreviatus was first known as a member of the United States fauna from a specimen taken by Cooper near San Diego, California, in 1862. Since then the species has been ascertained to occur not uncommonly in the southern portions of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, as well as, of course, south thru Mexico to British Guiana, whence it was originally described in 1848 by Cabanis. Cooper's specimen (perhaps first recorded in Proc. Cal. Ac. So. IV, 1868, p. 7) is now num- ber 4375 in the collection of the University of California Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. Altho the stuffing has been rem6ved, giving it a collapsed appearance, it is still quite a good skin. The original, attached label, tho doubtless considerably faded, is perfectly legible. It is of the characteristic blue, lined, ledger paper; the legend, in ink, is in Cooper's own hand-writing, and reads as follows: "761 Buteo harlani [the latter name crossed out in pencil and 'zonocercus Sclater' written above and beyond, also in lead pencil] ? [ 20 mi N of San Diego Col ] Feb 23d '62J. O. C [[ 20.25 ,56.50 16.25 I[ris] red brown, Bill I black and whitish horn, cere and feet yellow." The next record of the Zone-tailed Hawk in California was of an immature ? secured by C. B. Linton at National City, near San Diego, November 26, 1906. This example was origin- ally recorded by Linton under the name "Urubiting?a anthracina" (CoNDoR IX, July 1907, p. 110), but this erroneous determination was corrected by him as soon as he became aware of his mistake (CONDOR X, July 1908, p. 181). The specimen is now, I believe, in Mr. Lintoh's pri- ate collection/ I had the opportunity of verifying its identity, comparing it with Arizona exam- ples of the species in the collection of G. l*rean Moreore, with which it agreed perfectly. This museum has recently acquired two more examples of this bird, one of them, number 5494, collected by W. J. McCloskey "near the coast, 30 miles north of San Diego," California, September 10, 1907; the other secured by 1 ?. Stephens from a local hunter who shot it in "April, 1908," five miles southeast of Tijuana, Lower Californm, which is less than twenty miles south of San Diego. The former thus constitutes the third record for the state of California. Of the four examples above noted from the vicinity of San Diego, only the Cooper spediTch is fully adult, that is, solid blackish with two-barred tail. The others have much white mottling particularly on breast and back of head, and their tails are many-barred. Mr. Stephens has kindly forwarded me two specimens taken by him in Arizona. Comparison with these as well as with those in the Moreore collection, show California examples of l?uteo abbreviatus to be in no way different. -J. GRINNELL, Uuiversity of California, l?erkeley, California. That Cooperative Scheme.--With the exception of a very practical article by William E. Ritter which appeared in the November, 1908, CONDOR and one or two personal letters from scientists interested in the subject, the silence following my suggestions on "a. plan for cooper- ative ornithology" would be fairly appalling, were it not for the fact that it was more or less expected. CONDOR readers may probably be divided into three classes in this connection, viz: (1) those who are in sympathy with the idea and believe in its practicability; (2) those who would be in sympathy with the idea if they were sure of its ultimate success; and (3) those who for various reasons do not admit its feasibility. Obviously the latter class must be eliminated from our Plans and it remains for the others to