THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 



cactus wrens, road-runners, quail, nighthawks, doves, spar- 

 rows and other birds are shown on a great cactus-covered 

 desert, characteristic of the more arid portions of southern 

 Arizona. Various species of cactus, candle bush and palo 

 verde in blossom form part of the accessories. 



California Condor. The studies for this group were made 

 in Piru Canon, fifty miles southwest of Santa Barbara, 

 California. The condor's rapid decrease is believed to 

 have been caused by its feeding on poisoned carcasses of 

 sheep and other cattle exposed by ranchmen as a bait for 

 predatory animals. 



Brandt's Cormorant. About a quarter of a mile off the 

 coast near Cypress Point, Monterey, California, is such a 

 scene as is here pictured. The cormorant is an expert 

 diver and the Chinese and Japanese fishermen make use of 

 it as an assistant in their occupation. 



Summer Bird Life of the San Joaquin Valley. Formerly 

 a dry and arid region, irrigation has transformed this land 

 into a series of creeks, ponds and marshes. In the group 

 are stilts, avocets, killdeer, terns, night herons, ibises, 

 coots, and various species of ducks. The studies for this 

 group were made at Los Banos. 



A Flamingo Colony. Prior to 1904, the time when the 

 studies for this group were made, very little was known 

 concerning the nesting habits of flamingoes. At this time 

 an expedition from the Museum to the Bahamas was suc- 

 cessful in discovering a rookery containing more than 2,000 



79 



