74 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ORNITHOLOGY, VOL. I. 



5 mm. in length. None of the other specimens show any lack of 

 primaries. These little grebes were found in company with C. n. 

 californicus and rarely strayed from a patch of floating vegetation. 

 Iris yellow near the pupil, changing to orange at the periphery. 



2. Colymbus nigricollis californicus (Heermann). 



Three were collected at Lake Amatitlan and five at Lake Atitlan. 

 They were common at the latter lake March 2oth. Those taken at 

 Lake Amatitlan (Feb. 24) were all in winter plumage. A male taken 

 by Mr. Barber at Lake Atitlan (Feb. 23) has the throat black, only 

 the cheeks and chin remaining white, yet no sign of the ochraceus 

 postocular tufts is visible. The lesser wing coverts of this specimen 

 are tinged with light bay, and another male taken a day earlier had 

 this color on all the upper wing coverts, the majority of the lesser 

 coverts being entirely bay, while the greater coverts were only spotted 

 with it at the tip. Bay wing coverts are evidently an individual 

 variation of rather uncommon occurrence. A male and a female 

 taken the 2oth and i5th of March respectively, are nearly in full 

 plumage, the former having a sprinkling of dark bay across the 

 lower part of the foreneck, not found on any other specimen. Iris 

 flame-scarlet near pupil, fading outwardly to white. 



Family Pelecaiiiclre. 



3. Pelecanus californicus Ridgway. 



A single specimen was secured from a small flock that daily 

 appeared along the beach at San Jose. This was an immature 

 female. 



Family Aiiaticla*. 



4. Querquedula discors (Linnxus). 



A single female was taken by Mr. Barber (Feb. 23d) at Lake 

 Atitlan. None were found on Lake Amatitlan the last week in Feb- 

 ruary. The deep waters of these lakes may not afford good feeding 

 grounds for them. At all events they were scarce. 



