VOL. IV.] General Bird Notes. 225 



about five miles from the marsh, which led me tc believe that 

 there, in limited numbers at least, they reared a second brood 

 which they ordinarily could not do on the marsh for the reason 

 mentioned above. C. Littlejohn. 



Mongolian Pheasants of Oregon. 



The birds {Pasiajiits torquatiisf) were introduced into the 

 country by Hon. O. N. Denny, U. S. Consul-General at Shanghai, 

 China, in 1882. There were something less than sixty birds, 

 and they were turned out on an island in the Willamette River, 

 but have since been scattered around in different localities. 

 Mr. Denny also introduced the Golden Pheasant {Chrysolop/uis 

 pidus) which I think have died out. An act to protect them 

 was passed on October 24, 1882, and has since been renewed 

 and is still in force, although almost a dead letter now. 



The pheasants thrive best in the southern counties. They 

 are not more destructive to crops than any other game birds. 



Bernard J. Bretherton. 



A. Migration of Bonaparte's Gull. 



On May 11, 1889, I observed several flocks of Bonaparte's 

 gull (^Larus Philadelphia) flying down this (Pajaro) valley, west- 

 ward toward the ocean, and they flew every night till the first of 

 June. They commenced flying about seven o'clock, if foggy, or 

 half-past seven if clear, and would fly till dark. The flocks had 

 from five to fifty or more birds in each. Some nights flock after 

 flock would go by and then again four or five flocks would be all 

 I could count in an evening. The first flocks seemed to be old 

 birds with black heads, and a few days later all the birds shot 

 were in young or winter plumage. The stomach of one of the 

 birds which I shot contained a piece of gravel and what looked 

 like parts of black insects. Later I examined another which 

 was full of whitish worms about three-fourths of an inch long 

 and as large as a number fourteen wire. 



I do not know why the birds should come down this valley or 

 where they came from, but suppose they were migrating and had 

 come from the San Joaquin River. J. R. Chalker. 



