478 NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA. 



25th, found the eggs of Common Doves. 26th, shot a new 

 species of Owl {Micrathene Whitneyi) iu a dark thicket. 

 28th, Summer Ked-bird [Pijranga oestiva). 29th, found a 

 nest and two eggs of the Shining Flycatcher. In this month 

 I saw an unknown species of Oriole in the high trees, like 

 Icterus Parisorum Bouap. 



On April 6th I trapped a squirrel, of a species which I 

 had not before observed, a third larger than Harris', and 

 dark-brown instead of gray, but with proportions and mark- 

 ings so exactly like the desert species, that, remembering 

 the varieties of the Four-striped Tamias, I did not dare to 

 consider this distinct. It was all I saw of the kind, which 

 may be common in the wooded mountains of Arizona. On 

 the 13th I obtained the first Pale Bat, before noted. 



Reptiles had now become common in the valley, and were 

 mostly distinct species from those of the deserts. Besides 

 those mentioned, a large Fence Lizard (Sceloporus ma- 

 gister?), eight inches long, began to frequent the trees 

 March 20th, and on the 23d, three young of my new Laud 

 Tortoise {Xerohales Agassizii) were brought from the moun- 

 tains by Indians. The Thirsty Lizard (^Dipsosaurus dor- 

 salis) became connnon in the ravines near by, far from 

 water. On the 30th I caught Graham's Salvadora (^S. Gra- 

 hamii)^ a pretty harmless snake living in the grassy valley. 

 April 15th, Woodhouse's Toad* first appeared on the drier 

 banks; 17th, Churchill's Bull-snake {Pituophis beUona) ; 

 26th, Boyle's Milk-snake {Lamjyropeltis Boylii) ; 29th, the 

 Coppery Whip-snake (^Masticojohis testaceus), and some very 

 swift lizards (^Croiajj/ii/lus sp.) which I did not succeed in 

 catching, appeared on the desert plains. 



On May 1st I shot the Little Flycatcher (Pmpidonax pu- 

 sillus), which I then mistook for P. Traillii, but find by my 

 notes that this one differed from a true specimen of the lat- 

 ter, shot on May 20th, in having the lower mandible brown- 

 ish instead of yellowish and iu proportions. It was lost, with 



♦Dr. Keuneiiey found toads nt William's Fork, Febniary 18th, 1864. 



