THE CONDOR
THE CONDOR
| Vol. Ill
a dainty wreath of slender bleached
bones, chiefly from fishes. The spot
chosen for the eggs was about two-hun-
dred yards from the surf, on the level
beach sand, near the center of the broad
opening of one of the gullies in the
sand-dunes. There was no distinguish-
ing mark or object near the eggs, and
nothing in the slightest to protect the
set from destruction. The Plover was
sitting on the nest when it was found
and betrayed its presence by gliding off
on the close approach of Mr. Jackson.
She remained at a distance while we
were in the neighborhood, but several
hours later while in the vicinity I found
a bird sitting on the empty nest. She
ran off on our approach.
About twenty-five yards from this set
we found two eggs, several feet apart
and on an open flat stretch of sand a
little nearer the breakers. I concluded
that the wind had blown apart the eggs
of an incomplete set.
Two more Snowy Plovers were found
in this neighborhood, but I was unable
to locate their nests or young; but late
that afternoon while crossing the sand
dunes I stirred up another bird. We
had run across a hillock of chips of
broken flint, intermixed with shells and
a few bones; evidently an Indian
mound. While examining this inter-
esting spot I noticed a Plover feigning a
broken wing. She would run to within
eight or ten yards of me and dropping
on one side, would hold the wing of the
other up above her back, and crying
piteously, would drag herself away. I
sat down to await results and after a
few minutes she stopped, panting vio-
lently, and apparently seriously
wounded. Finding that I made no
move she tried again and again, until
she started within ten feet of me in her
endeavor to attract attention and pur-
suit. But as night was rapidly ap-
proaching, and we were twenty miles
from camp, I could not stop long enough
to work out the object of her solicitude,
but for the twenty minutes we were in
the neighborhood her efforts to decoy
us were unceasing.
I was especially interested in this in-
cident. Without doubt the bird had
either eggs or young in that immediate
vicinity; yet that Indian mound was at
least a quarter of a mile from the beach
— several large hills of drifting sand in-
tervening. Is it the habit of these
plovers to nest so far from the surf?
Leaving this anxious bird, we pushed
on to the beach, striking it some dis-
tance below the buggy. Before we had
fairly reached the sands, Jackson called
me to his side and pointed to the sand
at his feet. There stretched out as if
dead but with bright open eyes, lay a
plover, even smaller than the first. It
had sought no shelter but was trying
to conceal its presence by stillness, even
on the open sand, for there was no
sheltering object near. We approached
closer and closer until I could have
touched the bird with my hand, but no
movement on its part evinced life; so we
left it, and were soon on the hmieward
road.
a an
An Additional
Specimen of
Lake Tahoe.
Nyctale From
THE young male mentioned
in 'T,and Birds of the Paci-
fic District" was captured in
a dwelling on the evening of
Sept. 21, 1899 at Tahoe City, where it
may have been reared, as I had been
told of small owls that came about the
dwelling at night. My second speci-
men was taken in a dense alder thicket
near MeKinney's August 23, 1901. It
was a young female; I shot it about 10
o'clock in the morning. Its stomach
was full of fur and the bones of a small
animal.
Possibly botli individuals were mi-
grants from the north, but I have long
supposed that this owl was a summer
resident of the east slope of the Sierras,
though I have never heard one and
have gone many times to what I
thought were favorable parts of the for-
Nov., 1 90 1.
THE CONDOR
est in the Sierras with a hope of hear-
ing it. Mr. Osgood in North American
Fauna No. 2r describes Nyctala acadica
scotcea from Queen Charlotte Islands,
which is probably quite, if not entirely,
identical with specimens that have been
taken in California, and also including
Lichenstein's Strix frontalis which is
grouped in Vol. 9 of Pac. R. R. Reports
with Nyctale albifrons.
I hope Nyctala will be retained for
the generic name of these owls and
think no great violence will be done
our code of nomenclature by retaining
it. Dr. Coues somewhere suggested a
statute of limitations whereby a name
that had been in use about fifty years
should continue in use,--a wise sug-
gestion I think. Ncytale and Nyctala
have done good service about that long;
it seems to me that our greatest present
want is stability of ornithological nomen-
clature.
L. Beading.
Stockton, Cal.
i& $1 ififf
Mniotilta varia Recorded Again in California
AS the result of an outins; at Pacific
Grove, Cal. I am enabled to again
record the Black-and-White Warb-
ler for California the specimen
being a male in fall plumage. On Sep\
8, 1901 while driving out to Point Lo-
bos, Monterey Co., at the Carmel River
crossing my attention was attracted to a
chickadee which I thought seemed to
be chasing a chickadee of larger size.
On collecting the bird I found it to be a
Black-and-White Warbler (Mniotilta
varia); making the third recorded speci-
men for California. The two skins I
have taken measure as follows: No.
784, Coll, W, O. E.; wing, 2.11; tail,
2.00 inches, Farallone Island, May 28,
1887; No. 3047. Coll. W. O. E., wing,
2.10; tail, 1. 14 inches, Monterey Co.,
Cal. Sept. 8, igor.
There seems to be no perceptible dif-
ference between these specimens and
those from the Atlantic Coast. An im-
mature female is recorded in "Birds of
the Pacific Slope of Los Angeles Co.,
Cal." by Grinnell, the specimen having
been taken by H A. Gaylord on Oct. 2,
1895 in Arroyo Seco near Pasadena,
Cal. W. Otto Emerson.
Hayivards, Cal., Oct. 30, 1901.
at an m
The American Redstart in Oregon.
While looking over the University of
California collection of skins at Berke-
ley the past month for some records of
the old Dr. Cooper collection, I noted a
female American Redstart (Setophaga
ruticilla) labelled "John ' Day River,
Oregon, July 1, 1899," collected by
Loye Miller, catalogue number 130.
While being an Oregon take I consider
it worthy of recording, as the date be-
ing late would indicate a nesting bird,
and it may be found by some of the
field-workers later on as occurring spar-
ingly on the Pacific Slope, it being a
summer resident of British Columbia.
W. Otto Emerson.
Haywards, Cal., A T ov. 2, ipoi.
$0 ijflir $
Warbler Notes from Los Angeles, Cal.
Dendroica maculosa. On October 5, 1901
while watching a flck of about a dozen
Lute;cent and Pileolated warblers feed-
ing in some willows, I saw among them
what I took to be an immature Calaver-
as Warbler. I shot at and secured it
and on picking the bird up was agree-
ably surprised at finding it to be a fe-
male Magnolia Warbler. I believe this
is only the second thus far taken in this
county. On Oct. 21, 1897 I secured
one, also a female, (recorded in Grin-
nell's "List of Birds of the Pacific Slope
of Los Angeles Co.") about a quarter of
a mile from where I took this bird.
Helminthophila celata. For about six
weeks, commencing with Sept. 1,
Lutescent Warblers were quite abun-
dant in the vicinity of Los Angeles. I
carefully scrutinized the various flocks
I saw in the hope of finding some
Orange-crowned Warblers, and was re-
warded by securing two specimens, a
