i08 PACIFIC COAST AVIFAUNA No. 9 



nest had long been deserted, and held the dried up remains of two nearly grovv^n 

 young birds. Another nest, differing but little in composition or position, was 

 found on June 23, 1906, placed twenty feet up in a large willow. The five eggs 

 it contained were quite heavily incubated. 



It would be interesting to know what peculiarly favorable conditions existed 

 that year to attract these interesting little birds, and to induce them to remain 

 through the breeding season. 



Dwarf Hermit Thrush. Hylocichla guttata nanus (Audubon). 



From mid-October until March occasional examples of this thrush may be 

 found in the willows along the ditches, where they seclude themselves for the 

 most part in the gloomiest shady clumps of large trees. They are quite silent 

 during the time they remain with us, and of such sluggish natures as to appear 

 almost stupid at times. I have sometimes walked up to within five or six feet 

 of one of these birds without causing it the least alarm. At a nearer approach 

 it would leisurely hop to another branch, just out of arm's reach, where it would 

 assume an air of indifference, and remain motionless for some time. The only 

 specimen I ever collected was secured with a shot cartridge in a twenty-two 

 caliber revolver, at a distance of about seven feet. 



It is a difficult matter to attempt to ascertain in what numbers this bird 

 occurs, as the species might easily be overlooked entirely. 



Western Robin. Planesticus migratorius propinquus (Ridgway). 



Some winters robins appear in large numbers and spread out over the val- 

 ley in flocks of from twenty to fifty or more individuals. At other times hardly a 

 bird will be seen all winter. Climatic conditions seem to govern their abundance-, 

 and doubtless the food supply has much to do with their scarcity during certain 

 intervals. Alfalfa fields, pasture land, and small overflowed sections are the 

 favorite feeding grounds for Western Robins in this vicinity, and because of a 

 like preference on the part of the Brewer Blackbird, the two species are often 

 observed together on the ground. 



Occasionally robins appear in small numbers early in November, but they 

 are seldom much in evidence during that or the following month, and not until 

 February do they become especially noticeable. The winters of 1903 and 1907 

 were notable for the abundance of these birds, particularly over much of the 

 region northeast of Clovis and extending toward the hills. 



As a rule, the last week in March may be expected to see the departure of 

 all but a few stragglers from the lower parts of the valley, those that remain be- 

 ing in most cases single birds. April 4, 1907, one of these late sojourners was 

 observed, and another was recorded the following day, while one silent individual 

 was noted April 7, 191 1, m some willows near the river below Lane's Bridge. 



The caroling of these birds is seldom heard here in the valley, their most 

 common notes being an unmusical squeak and the characteristic ''kwee-kwee- 

 kuk." 



Northern Varied Thrush. Ixoreus naevius meruloides (Swainson). 

 The occurrence of this handsome bird in winter has been reported to me 

 on two or three different occasions ; but the best record obtainable is that of Miss 



