54 PACIFIC COAST AVIFAUNA No. 7 



noran zone of California. It was noted by J. G. Cooper on Catalina Island in 

 the 60's (I'roc. Cal. Acad. Sci. i\', 1869, 77). There seems to be something- in 

 the appearance of this bird that causes the hunter and farmer boy to shoot it 

 on sight. This wanton persecution has greatly diminished the numbers of this 

 species, one of the most interesting of our California 1)irds. The nesting sea- 

 son is, ordinarily, from late March to early i\Iay. W. M. Pierce found a nest 

 containing three fresh eggs near Claremont, Los Angeles County, March 10, 

 1901, and noted another nest in the same locality that contained three fresh 

 eggs July 16, 1904. 



182. (387a) Coccyzus americanus occidentalis Ridgway. California 

 Cuckoo. 



Fairly common resident of the willow regions of the lowlands. Its secre- 

 tive habits render it easily overlooked. It probably arrives in southern Cali- 

 fornia in April and early May and leaves mostly in September, but I have not 

 found a great deal of definite information as to the time of migrations. An- 

 tonin Jay noted a bird near Los Angeles, May 5, 1907, and saw another in the 

 same locality, September 22, 1904 (Condor xiii, 1911, 69). The Cuckoo begins 

 nesting in the willow groves the first part of June, and fresh eggs may be 

 found until late in July. H. C. Burt found a nest containing two eggs, near 

 Santa Paula, Ventura County, in June, 1904. I took a slightly incubated set of 

 three eggs near Compton, Los Angeles County, July 13, 1907, and on July 24, 

 1910, I found a nest in the same locality that contained one fresh egg, one badly 

 incubated egg, one addled egg and one young bird (Condor xiii, 1911, 69). 

 Alphonse and Antonin Jay have taken many sets of Cuckoo's eggs in the wil- 

 low groves of Los Angeles County. Their earliest nesting date is of three newly 

 hatched young found May 10, 1901 (Condor xiii. 1911, 69), and their latest 

 date is of a set of two badly incubated eggs found August 20, 1911. 



J. J. Schneider found the Cuckoo breeding rather commonly near Anaheim. 

 Orange County, in June and July, 1899. His latest set was four slightly incu- 

 bated eggs taken July 19 (Condor ii, 1900, 34). V. Stephens found a nest 

 in the San Bernardino Valley in the latter part of May, 1882. The eggs were 

 two in number, fresh, and were spilled from the nest and broken while Mr. 

 Stephens was climbing the tree (Fiendire, Life Hist. N. A. Bds., 1895. 25). 

 The species was noted once in 1875 and once in 1876 by F. E. Blaisdell at 

 Poway, San Diego County ( Belding, Land Bds. Pac. Dist., 1890, 57), and J. 

 M. Hatch took a male on August 20 and saw another bird on August 22. 

 1896, near Escondido (Auk xiii, 1896, 347 )._ 



183. (390) Ceryle alcyon (Linnaeus). Bfxted Kingfisher. 



Occurs in considerable numbers during migrations, and is occasionally 

 noted at all seasons of the year. I have seen it in summer in various parts 

 of Los Angeles County, as well as on the Santa P)arbara Islands, but have 

 never found a nest in this locality. H. C. Burt informs me that in the sum- 

 mer of 1904, a pair of these birds nested in a river bank near Santa Paula, 

 Ventura County. C. B. Linton saw a pair enter a hole in a bank near Whittier, 

 Los Angeles County, in the summer of 1895. L. Ijelding records the Belted 



