July, ?9o5 I THE SAGE GROUSE ?o 5 sometimes bunches of them. They were always bright and in good condition of flesh. They appeared to beidle which leads me to think that the late hhtches do not lay the following spring. If this were to be seen on13? in summer I would be- lieve that they had been robbed of their possessions, but it occurs when the hens should be nesting. The counties of Albany, Converse, Natrona, and Carbon are the places where grouse are most abundant in Wyoming. A single hunter has been known to kill a hundred birds in a day without a dog. The best hunting is found over lands adjacent to springs, down green draws and the bottoms along streams, and the best time to find coveys is in the morning or evening when the birds are feeding. After feeding they hide either on the feeding ground or at some distance from it where the sage is large enough to screen them from enemies and the rays of the sun. Ofttimes a hen with her brood will venture to take retuge in the shade of a ranch- man's cabin or barn. It is certain that grouse breed above seven thousand feet but just how much I am unable to say. Hail storms often kill large numbers when they strike the places of hiding. When their feathers are drenched with rain, the birds are often unable to rise, and at such times have been killed with a stick. Birds from the West Coast of Lower California and Adjacent Islands BY HENRY B. KAEDING I T was the writer's privilege during the summer of ?897 to form one of a party that visited the islands off the west coast of Lower California. This expedition was made in a small schooner, leaving San Diego during the first week in March, and an endeavor was made to touch at all the islauds between San Diego and Socorro Island, with the exception of Los Coronados. This was done, some of the more important islands being visited twice and even three times, and land- ings were also made on the mainland of the Lower California peninsula. Many interesting facts were brought to light concerning the breeding habits of little known shearwaters and petrels and several new species of birds were described from the material collected. The ornithological material was for the collection of Mr. A. W. Anthony, who has written at length on the results of the expedition (see list of references ap- pended), but as yet there has been no attempt to compile a complete list of the birds encountered on the trip. The following list is intended to furnish in as concise' form as possible a complete hand-list of the birds taken or noted by the writer. Obviouqy it cannot be expected that a list of this kind will embody all the birds of the region visited, and for additional information on the avifauna of the region in question the writer has appended a list of the principal publications pertaining to the subject. With regard to this list of publications, it may be as well to state that no attempt has been nmde to compile a complete bibliography; this has been done by Mr. Brewster a and others, and the list of refereuces appended is one of only the principal and leading publications on the subject; a bibliography of this region will be found in several of the works referred to. Prior to the time of the visit of our party, the more southerly group of islands, Los Revillagigedos, comprising Socorro, San Benedicte and Clarion Islands, had a. Cf. Brewster, Birds of the Cape Region of Lower California. Bull. Harv. Mus. Co;np. Zool., XLI, z9o2.
