348 OKNIXnOLOGY. 



tlicse scattered groves the two trees above named are mingled, their relative 

 al)nndanee varying with the locality, one or the other of them sometimes 

 alone constitnting the entire growth, the greater sterility of the soil being 

 indicated by the prevalence of the Jiinipents. These trees are usually 

 diminutive, rarely exceeding fifteen feet in height, wdiile their average is 

 liardK' more than ten or twelve feet; their trunks are usually large in pro- 

 jxirtion, however, and twisted and gnarled into an unsightly shape. In 

 sucli woods, near Carson City, we found only the Blue Nutcracker {Gijnino- 

 kitta cyanoccpliala), Sialia arctica, Pica Imdsonka, Lophophanes inornatits, and 

 Oreortyx pidus, with an occasional SpizcUa hreiveri, CoUiirio exciibitoroides, 

 and Colaptes mexicanus, with noAv and then a straggling flock of Psaltri- 

 parus plumheiis, the latter, however, most usually seen in the ravines. The 

 Empidonax ohscunis was an additional summer resident, arriving about 

 April 20. 



c. The meadow.s and sa^ebru.sh ;»Zf(»ts. 

 The plain upon which Carson City is situated consists of the usual 

 sage-brush waste, changing, however, to meadows along the foot of 

 the Sierra Nevada, where the soil is watered by brooks and rivulets 

 from the mountains. The winter residents of this section were: Anthus 

 ludovicianus, CoUurio exciibitoroides, Plectrophanes lapponicus, EremophiJa 

 alpestris, Ampliispiza nevadensis, Sturnella neglecta, Speoti/to liypogcsa in the 

 sage-brush and meadows of the plain, and Turdiis migratorius, Sialia 

 mexicana, Regulus calendula, Troglodytes parhnanni, CoUurio horealis, Zono- 

 trichia intermedia, Junco oregonus, Spizella monticola, and Pipilo oregonus 

 anu)ng the more bushy fields at the base of the Sierra. Besides the 

 foregoing, Corviis carii'irorus and P'lcd hudsoii'iai were aljundant about 

 the slaughter-houses, while Xaidliocephulus icierocrphahis and ScolccopJiagns 

 cyanoccphalm frequented the vicinity of corrals. In the spring, the follow- 

 ing species were added to this fauna: — 



Sayornis sayus {about hnihVuujs) IMaifh 12. 



Salpinctes obsoletus {rocky places) iMaicIi liO. 



Orooscoi)tes niontiuuis {.saf/ebriish) Marcli 24. 



Taciiycineta bicolor {about bidliliiKjs) March 2.5. 



Passerculus alaiuliuiis {meadows) JIarcli 28. 



Pooecetes confiais {sage bnish and mcadotcs) April 1. 



