142 



University of California Publicatio)ts in Zoology [Vol.12 



LIST AND DIMENSIONS IN MILLIMETERS OF PHALAENOPTILUS NVTTJLLI 

 NITIDUS FROM THE COLORADO VALLEY 



No. Sex Locality 



12781 d" Riverside Mt.. Calif, side 



12786 cj" Opposite Cibola, Calif, side 



12787 J Opposite Cibola, Calif, side 

 12778 cJ Above Bill Williams River, 



Ariz, side 

 Average of the males, 



12782 $ Above Blythe, Calif, side 

 12792 2' ^ "li- E. Picaeho, Calif, side 



Average of the females, 

 Average of the 6 specimens. 



Mar. 23 

 Apr. 19 



130.7 

 131.9 

 131.3 

 134.0 



82.1 



77.3 

 77.0 

 77.1 

 80.3 



6.5 

 5.8 

 6.9 



9-8-7-10 

 8-9-7-10 



'Dissection showed reproductive organs to be much enlarged. 



Chordeiles acutipennis texensis Lawrence 



Texa.s Xiii'hthawk 



First seen on March 9. on the California side in Chemehuevis 

 Valley — one individual at dusk rtyiuo- north. Next, March 27, on the 

 Arizona side at Ehrenberg. Thereafter common at all stations, appear- 

 ing each evening at dusk over the river and its flood plain. Not 

 observed anywhere in the riparian strips during the day, but often 

 flushed from the desert floor, usually from the scanty shade of a 

 creosote bush. 



A specimen shot on the Arizona side five miles above Laguna, April 

 24, had a spine-cushion of a cactus firmly stuck into the right carpal 

 joint. This impediment, evidently picked up from the ground some 

 time previously, had proven so serious a handicap as to result in the 

 bird's emaciated bodily condition. It would probably have resulted 

 finally in the death of the bird, as the spines were deeply imbedded 

 in the tissues. Accidents of this sort may not be infrequent and thus 

 introduce an additional factor into the economy of desert bird-life. 



Near Pilot Knob, May 8, a Texas nighthawk was flushed from its 

 complement of two fresh eggs. These lay on bare gravel between 

 pebbles in the shade of a creosote bush on the hot glaring mesa. They 

 are of the size and tj^pe of coloration usual with this species. 



The eight skins preserved, nos. 12766-12773, show no peculiarities 

 as compared with specimens from the San Diego and San Joaquin 



