206 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [1898. 



BIRDS OBSERVED IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA IN THE SUMMER OF 1893. 



BY JOHN VANDENBURGH. 



It was my good fortune in the summer of 1893 to be one of a 

 party of five who, during the weeks from June 21st to July 27th, 

 fairly lived in the saddle, riding nearly eight hundred miles through 

 the Coast Range, interior valleys and Sierra Nevada of California. 

 The other members of the party were Dr. Charles H. Gilbert, Dr. 

 W. W. Thoburn and Professor C. B. Wing of Leland Stanford 

 Junior University, and the Rev. Mr. Briggs, then of San Francisco. 



The main object of the expedition was the gathering of material 

 which would throw light upon certain problems connected with the 

 fish fauna of the streams in the vicinity of Mt. Whitney, but all 

 forms of vertebrate life received more or less attention. My time 

 was devoted chiefly to the birds and reptiles, the latter, perhaps, 

 receiving the major share. Owing to the rapid rate at which it was 

 necessary to travel, opportunities for collecting were not of the best, 

 but the ornithological observations made, are presented in the hope 

 that they may be of interest from the fact that most of the birds 

 were in their breeding ranges and, in many instances, in localities 

 seldom visited by the ornithologist. 



Our route lay in Santa Clara County from Los Gatos and Palo 

 Alto to Saratoga, and thence to Boulder Creek in Santa Cruz 

 County ; June 21st, Santa Cruz ; June 22d, Soquel, Aptos and Wat- 

 sonville ; June 23d, San Juan, Hollister and Tres Pinos ; June 24th, 

 up the valley of the San Benito River to San Benito, Hernandez, 

 Hepsadan Mountain and Erie ; June 26-29, across a divide to the 

 Los Gatos Creek, June 29th, and then down this stream and through 

 Pleasant Valley to Huron, June 80th. From Huron we crossed 

 the San Joaquin Valley, by way of Lemoore, Armona and Hanford, 

 to Visalia, July 1-od. From Visalia we went to Three Rivers and 

 then up the east fork of the Kaweak River to Cain's Flat. Weishar 

 Mill and Mineral King, July 4-6th. Crossing Farewell Gap, we 

 spent a day in Shotgun Canon close to Little Kern River, and then 

 went on to Trout Meadows and the south fork of Kern River, reach- 

 ing Little Kern River Lake July 12th and Soda Springs or Big 



