°i895 I AxTiioxv, Birds of Saii Fernando, A. Cal. \ in 



Rosario and seldom if ever being seen at any distance from the shelter 

 of its mighty branches. At the mission, where the cardoons were very 

 large and abundant, to within a short distance of the mesquite thickets, 

 this Woodpecker delighted in making frequent forays into the lesser 

 growth, spending hours in hammering on the mesquite trunks and 

 hunting through their branches, always beating a precipitate retreat to 

 the cactus on the hillsides above at the first sign of danger. My skins 

 from this region show the San Fernando bird to be rather smaller than 

 those from Arizona, with the white markings of the wings and upper 

 pai-ts somewhat restricted. It may seem desirable to separate them as 

 a subspecies, but with the series at present available, I do not consider it 

 advisable. 



19. Colaptes chrysoides. Gilded Flicker. — The northwestern range 

 of this species is almost, if not quite, the same as that of the preceding 

 species, which it resembles in habits. The present species shows a greater 

 preference for the cirio than does Melanerpes, though it seems equally 

 fond of the cardoons. My series from San Fernando proves it to be quite 

 different from a small series from Arizona, kindly loaned me by Mr. F. 

 Stephens. The ground color of the upper parts is much darker in the 

 Lower California bird, averaging about bistre brown, while the Arizona 

 skins are broccoli brown ; the black markings are also more intense and 

 below especially more abundant in the peninsula specimens; the yellow 

 of the wings and tail is deeper and the measurements less than in the 

 Arizona skins. I have unfortunately no skins from the Cape region, 

 whence Malherbe obtained his type of chrysoides, and until such skins are 

 examined it would be unsafe to separate either the Arizona or San Fer- 

 nando birds. 



20. Phalaenoptilus nuttalli. Nuttall's Poorwill. — Of the three 

 specimens before me, collected the past season, two are rather inter- 

 mediate between californicus and nitidus, although one was collected as 

 far north as Burro Canon, north of Ensenada. The third. No. 5266, 

 collected at San Fernando May 4, if not true nitidus, is not far from that 

 form. Unfortunately none of my skins of that race from New Mexico 

 are accessible at the present writing, and I cannot give them a direct 

 comparison. 



Poorwills were not uncommon in all of the desert regions visited the 

 past season. They are probably resident through most of this country, 

 as I have heard them in December and January. During the summer 

 they were heard nearly every evening at San Fernando and doubtless 

 were nesting, but no nests were found. 



21. Chordeiles acutipennis texensis. Texa.s Nigiitii.wvk. — About 

 the mesquite brush and water holes at the San Fernando mission dur- 

 ing migration. 



22. Cyseloides niger. Bl.\ck Swift. — A small tlock was seen near 

 San Carlos in May, 1887. 



23. Aeronautes melanoleucus. White-throated Swift. — A com- 

 mon resident in all of the deserts about San Fernando; especially common 



