Page:Condor3(6).djvu/27

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?64 THE CONDOR I Vol. Placerville to the summit, owing probably to a lack of suitable breeding grounds. In Lake Valley at Meyer's Station it was common, doubtless nesting in the sage brush which there abounds. Mr. Taylor writes me that on the evening of August t? he noted flocks of this species congregated in and about the willow sand that they ?vere thereafter uncommon indicating that'the principal migration took place on that date. A female collected by Mr. Taylor at Meyer's Station on Sept. 4 shows very dark coloration, as do other specimens from the Sierras, and is evident- ly not refera bleto Cl?ordeilesv. he?zr.3,i. It seems probable that the Sierra night- hawk may prove separable into a new race but in the absence of definite data the present notes may be considered to apply to ('hordeiles virffi?tia?zus. [Common in suitable places to the summit of Pyramld Peak and Mt. Tallno. Very abundant on the lakes about Glen Alpine, where they can be seen at all times. In late July a nest with two eggs was found on bare rock near the shore of Suzy Lake. The night I spent on Pyramid Peak, nighthawks were continually flying about the campfire. In the fall they congregate in large flocks preparatory to the migrat'on.--W. W. P.] Aeronautes melanoleucus. White-throated Swift. On June 7, ?899 Mr. Carriger and I observed a swift circling high in air over one oF tile canyons at Fyffe and referred it to this species. Trochilus alexandri. Black-thinned Hummingbird. On July ?5, ?9 Mr. L.. E. Ta5 lot found a hummingbird's nest at Fyffe containing two eggs and collected the female parent. The skin was subsequently almost destroyed but from the fragments Mr. C. W. Richmond of the National Museum referred it to this species. The nest was placed five feet from the ground in a p_?ar tree in the orchard and and was composed of light colored plant ?naterial and nmllein down. Calypte anna. Anna Hummingbird. [A single specimen, a female, was shot on Silver Creek near Pyramid Peak, in July ?896. It was evidently a straggler.--W. W. P.] Selasph0rus rufus. Rufous Hummingbird. [Abundant in the Sierras above 6oo0 feet. Noted every day at my camp on Silver Creek, w here fore or five nests were taken usu. ally placed on small limbs of the tamarack pine. One was on a twig of Lonicera a few inches above running water. This nest was first observed July ?, ?895, when it contained one egg. This hummingbird was often noted at Glen Alpine, where it fed largely on the nectar of the Call f()rnia fuchsia.--W. W. P.] Stellula calliope. Calliope Hummingbird. Mr. Beck collected several of these small hummingbirds tour miles west of Slippery Ford, while they x?ere fly- ingabout.blcssomingshrubs. I saw one at Fyffe early ()n the morning of June 9, ?897 flying along a ditch and following its curves with l?recision. During the past summer Mr. Taylor and I observed a small hummingbird at Slippery Ford and also near the summit, bnt no specimens were secured to identify it esoftnis species. Tyrannus verticalis. Arkansas Kingbird. On June ?o, t899 Mr. Carriger observed a single example of this flycatcl?er in the orchard at Fyffe. A pair were nesting half a mile east of Smith Flat in a poplar tree on June ? r, ?899. !?lyiarchus cinerascens. Ash-throated Flycatcher. Some distance below Fyffe on June 8,' t897 Mr. Carriger and I observed a pair flying about a tall stub where they no doubt had a nest. It is probable th.at this species does not occur far above 3,ooo feet? Sayornis nigricans semiatra. Black Phoebe. On June 7, ?896 I found a nes? of this species between Folsom and El Dorado containing young about to fly. This is my only record though the species probably occurs as far up as Placerville.