1912 BIRDS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 89 



298. (605) Calamospiza melanocorys Stejneger. Lark Bunting. 

 Irregular visitant, mostly in winter and spring. J. Mailliard saw three 



birds at Santa Barbara. July 20, 1905 (Condor vn, 1905, 143). E. Simmons 

 took an adult male at Xewhall, Los Angeles County, May 3, 1897, and saw 

 three others at the same time ( Grinnell. Pub. 2. Pasadena Acad. Sci., 1898, 

 U). H. S. Swarth took a female in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles 

 County, December 13, 1901, and took a male in the same locality, January 

 16, 1902. Between that time and February 11, following, he saw several of 

 the birds (Condor iv, 1902, 95). F. O. Johnson took an adult male near 

 Riverside, February 23, 1888, and took three adult males in the same locality, 

 April 21, following (Swarth, Condor xn, 1910, 108). H. E. Wilder has 

 seen the species several times near Riverside. It was noted at Poway, San 

 Diego County, by F. E. Blaisdell, May 25. 1886. and at El Cajon by N. S. 

 Goss, May 16, 1884 ( Belding, Land Bds. Pac. Dist.. 1890, 180). L. Belding 

 saw a flock of thirty or forty birds near National City, May 6, 1884, and took 

 three males from a flock of about a dozen birds near San Diego, April 1, 1885. 

 Mr. Belding also noted flocks in the latter locality, April 16 and 30, 1885 

 (Land Bds. Pac. Dist., 1890. 180). G. Holterhoff found Lark Buntings com- 

 mon near National City from the middle of April through May. 1884 (Auk 

 i. 1884, 293). 



299. (607) Piranga ludoviciana (Wilson). Western Tanager. 

 Common summer resident of the mountain canons and coniferous forests. 



Most plentiful from 1500 to 8000 feet altitude. Breeds mostly in June. 

 During the spring migration, appears numerously, but irregularly, on the 

 mesas and lowlands, feeding in orchards and grain fields. 1 saw a bird at 

 Nigger Slough, Los Angeles County, May 3, 1911. J. Grinnell records the 

 extreme dates of arrival and departure in the vicinity of Pasadena as April 

 19 (1896) and September 30 (1897) (Pub. 2, Pasadena Acad. Sci., 1898, 

 41). J. H. Bowdes reports seeing Tanagers all through the summer of 1910 

 in the dense live oaks in the small canons back of Santa Barbara. He believes 

 that they were undoubtedly breeding, although no nests were found (Auk 

 xxviii, 1911, 176). J. R. Pemberton found them common in summer in the 

 Santa Ynez Mountains, Ventura County (Condor xn, 1910, 18). I found 

 them plentiful in the San Bernardino Mountains during the summer of 1907. 

 They were nest building the first week in June. Extreme nesting dates are : 

 Three eggs, fresh, taken by R. Arnold in a canon north of Pasadena, May 5, 

 1895 (Grinnell, Pub. 2, Pasadena Acad. Sci., 1898. 41), and three eggs, incu- 

 bation advanced, taken by Antonin Jay in the same locality July 3. 1904. 



300. (610a) Piranga rubra cooperi Ridgway. Cooper Tanager. 

 Rare straggler. According to C. P. Streator, a specimen was secured at 



Santa Barbara by Mr. Dodge in the spring of 1885 (On. & Ool. xi. 1886. 

 52). A female, now no 16660 collection J. E. Thayer, was taken by H. Linton 

 on San Clemente Island, October 11, 1907 (C. B. Linton, Condor x. 1908, 85). 



301. (611a) Progne subis hesperia Brewster. Western* Martin. 

 Fairly common summer resident, locally, mostly in timbered regions of the 



