410 PEOCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



*50. Lanivireo solitarius, /3. cassiiii, Baird.* — Cassiii's Vireo. 



This i)ird is a commou and generally distributed summer resident at 

 Big Trees. 1 have here found it more abundant than at any other place. 

 I often saw it at Soda Springs in the last of August and the first half 

 of September, and it was quite common in the willows near Marysville 

 in June. At Stockton, it was seen in the willows along the San Joaquin 

 Eiver, about the middle of May only, the entire number being but four 

 or tive. In May and June, 1877, at Big Trees, its sweetly expressive song- 

 was more attractive to me than the song of any bird of that locality. 



About the first of June I found a nest of this species at the Big 

 Trees. The bird remained on it until my eye was within three feet of 

 her head, so that I had a good view of her. I think large numbers breed 

 at the Big Trees and vicinity, as they were very numerous June 8, when 

 I left there. 



*Big Trees.. 



do 



Big Trees .. 

 *Marvsville . 



. clo 



Stockton 



May 10,18J7 

 May 10,1877 

 May — , 1877 

 Juue 13,1878 

 Juue 14, 1878 

 May 9, 1878 



51. Vireo huttoni, Ca8.s. — Hutton^s Vireo. 



This bird apjiears to be very rare in Central California. I found five 

 or six of them in the willows at Marysville, January 20, 1878, and a few 

 days later saw two or three others. 



71838 — ad. 

 76308 — ad. 



Marysville Jan. 20,1878 



Big Trees Jan. 20,1878 



^52. Vireo pusillus, Coues. — Least Vireo. 



This very interesting little bird is common in summer in willow thick- 

 ets at Stockton and Marysville. It arrived at Stockton about April 15, 

 1878, and left before September 7. It is active, restless, noisy or musi- 

 cal, and does not fail to Diake its presence known, occasionally giving 

 its tail a side jerk, reminding one, in this respect, of the small Fly- 

 catchers. When a nest is being built, the male does all the singing 

 and the female all the work, though the former encourages the latter 

 with its presence as well as song. 



A nest taken May 28 liad three eggs in it ; on the 24:th or 25th it had 

 two. I think this pan' had a nest destroyed by cattle, though there 

 could not have been more than one or two eggs in it ; but those eggs 



* Haviug recently, in conjunction with Mr. Hensliaw, carefully studied the Western 

 specimens heretofore called by us and others L. solitarius, I have been unavoidably 

 led to adopt Mr. Henshaw's conclusion thatX. solitarius proper does not occur at all in 

 the West, beinir replaced in the Pacific ProAdnce by i. cassini, and in the Middle Pro- 

 vince by L. plumbeus. My note in the Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club 

 (vol. iii, No. 2, pp. G5, (56), regarding the asserted occurrence of solitarius in California, 

 based upon Jlr. Beldiug's specimens, therefore refers solely to cassini. Mr. Henshaw's 

 views, shortly to be published, will explain the matter more fully. — R. E. 



