BREWSTER: BIRDS OF THE CAPE REGION, LOWER CALIFORNIA. 1/0 



Lanivireo solitarius cassini (not Vireo cassinii Xantcs) Ridgwat, Nom. N. Amer. 



Birds (Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., no. 21), 1881, 19, no. 141 a, part. Belding, 



Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., V. 1883, bid (breeding at San Jose del Cabo ; Mira- 



flores). 

 Vireo solitarius cassini Codes, Check List, 2d ed., 1882, 44, no. 178, part. 

 Vireo solitarius cassinii (not ^"ireo cassinii Xantcs) Bryant, Proc. Calif. Acad. 



Sci., 2d ser., II. 1889, 307 (breeding at San Jose' del Cabo; Miraflores). 

 Vireo solitarius lucasanus Brewster, Auk, VIIL 1891, 147, 148 (orig. descr. ; types 



from San Jose' del Rancho and Triunfo). A. 0. U. Co.mm., Auk, IX. 1892, 



106, no. 629 d; Clieck List, 2d ed., 1895, 265, no. 629 d. Ridgway, Man. 



N. Amer. Birds, 2d ed., 1896, 607 (descr. ; Lower Calif.). 

 [T7reo solitarius] var. lucasana Dubois, Synop. Avium, fasc. VII. 1901, 472 (Basse- 



Californie). 



So far as known, this Vireo is strictly confined to the Cape Region, where it 

 is found at all seasons of the year, although most numerously, perhaps, in 

 summer. Its breeding range extends from the coast at San Jose del Cabo, 

 where it occurs almost exclusively in cultivated grounds about houses, to Mira- 

 flores and San Jose del Rancho, at both of which places it is common. Only 

 a few were seen by Mr. Frazar at Triunfo, and none on the Sierra de la Laguna, 

 wliile but one bird was taken (on April 4) at La Paz, which appears to be be- 

 yond the northern limits of its usual range. At San Jose del Rancho two 

 specimens were killed in December, one on the 20th, the other on the 23d. 

 No form of V. solitarius is recorded by Mr. Bryant from anywhere north of 

 La Paz in Lower California, but Mr. Belding reports that Colonel Goss found 

 F. s. cassinii at Tia Juana, on March 20,^ and Mr. Anthony states that at San 

 Pedro Martir it was "not uncommon in the pines where it was first seen 

 May 13," and where "it became more common a week or so later." - It is a 

 common summer resident of portions of California, and may occasionally visit 

 the Cape Region of Lower California during migration or in winter. 



A nest of V. s. lucasanus containing four fresh eggs, found by Mr. Frazar at 

 San Jose del Rancho on July 15, was suspended in a fork at the extremity of 

 a long, leafless branch of an oak at a heiglit of about fifteen feet. It is com- 

 posed chiefly of a gray, hemp-like fiber mixed with grass stems and thin strips 

 of bark. There are also a few spiders' cocoons loosely attached to the bottom 

 and sides, and apparently intended as ornaments. The interior is very neatly 

 lined with fine, wiry, reddish-brown grass circularly arranged. This nest 

 measures externally 3.00 in diameter by 2.50 in depth ; internally, 2.00 in 

 diameter by 1.50 in depth. The walls are half an inch thick in places. The 

 eggs measure respectively : .79 X .56, .79 X -57, .80 X .57, and .80 X 58. 

 They are white, with a slight creamy tint, and are spotted, chiefly about the 

 larger ends, with reddish brown and black. Both nest and eggs are ver^- lile 

 those of V. solitarius. 



1 Occ. Papers Calif. Acad. Sci., IL, Land Birds Pacif. District, 1890, 201. • 



2 Zoe, IV. 1893, 244. 



