Nov., t9ot. I THE CONDOR x67 Empid0nax difficilis. Western Flycatcher. Not uncommon in the beds of the deep canyons, where it nests along the stream in up-turned logs and similar sites. One nest taken by Mr. Taylor at Fyffe on May 27, t897 contained four eggs, about'one-third incubated and was placed in the end of a moss-jrown, up-turned log. On June t6, ?898 we found a nest built in a cavity of a burnt-out spruce in Weber canyon. Empid0nax hamm0ndi. Hammond Flycatcher. This little flycatcher is found in the open country where brush is plentiful, though usually near timber. Its peculiar weak note calls one's attention to its presence. In t897 Mr. Carriger found two nests of this species at Fyffe, built not more tban ?oo feet apart. The first was found on June t5, and was built on a horizontal limb of a dogwood tree sixteen feet up. It held two eggs, in which incubation was begun. The fenrole parent was collected and determined later by Dr. C. W. Richmond. The second nest was built in an upright fork of a lnanzanita bush four feet from the ground and held four eggs. Thus the nesting sites scent to vary, and the general actions of the birds very much resemble those of E. trai/l [[,ate in the summer the young of this flycatcher are common in the tamarack thickets along Silver Creek and on the slopes of Pyramid Peak. They are usually associated with the young of two or three warblers and Cassin vireo. I have noted this congregation each season previous tt? the migration. The large scatter- lug flocks are often miles in exteut, and probably contain thousands of birds. --V. W. P.] Empid0nax wrighti. Wright Flycatcher. One specimen shot by me from a block oak in a clearing on June 20, [896. Its presence at Fyffe attbisdate may be reaarded as evidence of its nesting there. In the undergrowth of deer brush, in- terspersed with black oaks, at the Fourteen mile house a small Empidonax wa.? very common, but as no specimens were secured I do not know whether the birds were referable to this or to the preceding species. 0t0c0ris alpestris leac01?ema. Pallid Horned Lark. On October 6, ?9o?, Mr. L. E. Taylor collected a female horned lark at Meyer's Station in Lake Val- le3' from a group of three birds. October 9 near Lake of the Woods at 8,900 feet altitude Mr. Taylor writes that he saw a flock of several hundred horned larks and secured one by a long shot. Mr. Joseph Grinnell has kindly compared the two specimens with his series and pronounces them referable to [eitco[mrtta, mentioning at the sa?ne time that so far as he is aware this constitutes the first record of this subspecies for California. 0t0c0ris alpestris rubin. Ruddy Horned Lark. Observed commonly on the plains of the Sacramento vnlley and up as far as Latrobe. It probably does not occur as far up as Placerville but its occurrence at I, atrobe seems to justify giv- ing it a place in the list. Pica pica huds0nica. American Magpie. Reported as common about Meyer's Station during the fall of [9ox. Mr. Taylor sent me a nmle b[rd which was caght in a coyote trap on Sept 22. Observed by various other workers about Lake Tahoe. Pica nuttalli. Yellow-billed Magpie. Noted from the train a short distance west of I,atrobe. Probably occurs farther up in the blue oak belt. Cyanv:itta stelleri fr0ntali3. Blue-fronted Jay. A common species, its hoarse cries resounding through all the canyons. It seems to keep close to the timber. At Fyff? on June ?6, [898 [fi?und young just out of the nest, presenting a ludi- crous, bob-tailed appearance. A number of vireos were observed pur.,uing seve- ral marauding jays, the sharp, rasping notes of the former drawing attention to
