l8o Ray, Laud Birds of Lake Valley, Cal. [^"^ 



A LIST OF THE LAND BIRDS OF LAKE VALLEY, 



CENTRAL SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS, 



CALIFORNIA. 



BY MILTON S. RAY. 

 Plates VIII and IX. 



The following notes are the result of two seasons I have spent 

 in Lake Valley, — from June 4 to 20 in 1901, and from June 16 to 

 July 3 in 1902. My brother William R. Ray has accompanied me, 

 and in 1902 Olof Heinemann joined us. I had the pleasure of 

 meeting Mr. Loren E. Taylor in 1901 and Messrs. Chester Barlow, 

 Henry R, Taylor, W. W. Price, and F. M. Willard in 1902, at 

 various points in the region, all of whom are well known workers 

 in this locality. The observations of Messrs. Wilfred H. Osgood, 

 R. H. Beck, and Forrest Hanford have also added a number of 

 species to the list. Liberal extracts have been taken from the 

 ' Land Birds of the Placerville-Lake Tahoe Stage Road ' by 

 Chester Barlow (Condor, Vol. HI, No. 6). 



A very small portion of Lake Valley lies in Nevada, as the State 

 line turns a little north of here and runs southeast across the 

 mountains. The valley is about 15 miles long and 8 miles wide. 

 On the north it is bounded by Lake Tahoe, while on all other 

 sides it is surrounded by rugged, snow-capped mountain ranges. 

 The principal peaks are: Tallac on the w^est, rising to 9785 feet; 

 further west and to the south snowy Pyramid attains 10,020 and 

 Crystal 10,015 f^^^' M'hile on the eastern range Job's and Freel's 

 Peaks have an altitude of 10,637 and 10,900 feet respectively. 

 Lakes are numerous, there being a score of them between Mount 

 Tallac and Pyramid Peak at altitudes varying from 6400 to 8500 

 feet. Star Lake, the only one on the east, is one of the highest in 

 the world, the altitude being about 9000 feet. It usually remains 

 covered with a thick coat of ice until the end of June, and is a 

 great resort for Clarke Nutcrackers and other birds of the Hud- 

 sonian Zone. 



The altitude of Lake Valley is a little above that of Lake 

 Tahoe, which is 6220 feet, and for the most part the valley is level, 



