408 R AY , A-Birding in an Auto. [q"^ 



During our stay we made runs to many of the nearby towns, as 

 Long Beach, San Pedro, Santa Monica, Pasadena, etc., but found 

 but little new in the bird line. On the whole I do not consider 

 the sections we visited blessed with anything like the abundance 

 and variety of bird life we have in similar localities about San Fran- 

 cisco, and the timber for the most part, after leaving the Tehachapi 

 Mountains, was of a very scrubby character. We found a new 

 bird friend in the Hooded Oriole, which was abundant about the 

 parks of Los Angeles as well as in the adjacent territory. A very 

 pleasant call was made on Mr. Joseph Grinnell at Pasadena, 

 where "birdology" was reviewed for some time. I found our 

 friend Grinnell with a strong leaning towards mammalogy, and 

 his collection, particularly of the smaller species, is about the 

 finest I have ever seen. The rest of the afternoon was put in with 

 ostriches at the Cawston Farm. As I viewed these massive crea- 

 tures, a number of which were setting on broad complements of 

 those almost cast iron eggs, it occurred to me that such birds as 

 these in our native wilds would work a terrible hardship on orni- 

 thologists and oologists alike, looking for a series. 



June 1. — To San Buenaventura, 77 miles. Additional spe- 

 cies, 1. 



Our journey to-day, for the most part, led us through a moun- 

 tainous country, the major portion of which was but sparsely 

 wooded. Coming down from Calabassas we encountered a 

 large flock of Turkey Vultures feeding at the roadside, but as 

 these had been of common occurrence on the trip they excited no 

 more than ordinary interest. As we drew nearer, however, we 

 found a much larger bird among them which we immediately 

 recognized as the "king of the fliers," the great California Condor. 

 This particular individual was as languid in taking flight as the 

 smaller birds of the flock and afforded us, on foot and wing, an 

 exceptional view for some time. 



A succession of up and down grades finally brought us to San 

 Buenaventura where the night was spent. This was the last point 

 where we found the Hooded Oriole and Western Mockingbird, 

 although they may perhaps occur further north. 



June 2. — To Santa Barbara, 31 miles. Additional species, 1. 



The river bridge was down at San Buenaventura but after some 



