88 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



Fregata aquila. Man-o'-War Bird. 



A female of this species was siiot by a market hunter on 

 Humboldt Bay, Oct. 5, 1888, and presented to Mr. Fiebig, 

 who now has it in his collection. This is believed to be the 

 first well authenticated record of this bird on the coast of 

 California. Its claim to a place in the avifauna of this State 

 having heretofore rested on a skull, supposed to be of this 

 species, found on the Farallon Islands a number of years 

 ago.^ 



Clangula hyemalis. Old-squaw. 



A rare species on this coast, especially in California. A 

 male was taken on Humboldt Bay, Oct. (15 ?), 1888. 



Oceanodro7na furcata. Fork-tailed Petrel. 



A specimen was picked up on the beach of Humboldt 

 Bay, by Mr. J. B. Brown, on February 16 or 17, 1887. It 

 was one of a number which had been killed by a recent 

 storm and washed up on the beach. 



The fork-tailed petrel has been taken within the State on 

 one or two occasions before, but the instance cited above 

 seems to show that it is common, if not abundant, off our 

 coast in winter, and like the Pacific fulmar, is sometimes 

 destroyed in considerable numbers by severe storms. 



The Identification of Californian Nests and Eggs of 

 THE Genus Empidonax. 



By H. K. Taylor. 



It is, I think, a fact of interest and one not before re- 

 marked, that of the four species of Empidonax found breeding 

 in California, the eggs of two of them, E. difficilis -And E.pusil- 

 liis, which are spotted and indistinguishable, may be identi- 

 fied by the great difference in construction and especially 

 position of nests. 



Three nests of E. pusillus, found by me this year near 

 Pleasanton, are much deeper and more compact than any of 



*Proc'. Cal. Acad. Sci., Ser. 2, Vol. I, p. 41. 



