278 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES [Proc. 4th Sb«. 



abandoned, especially as upon the mountains to the north of 

 this it does not appear to breed below 4500 feet at the lowest, 

 this altitude corresponding with my experience in the vSierras 

 at about the same latitude. 



Mountain Mill Hotel 



As this expedition was more in the nature of a prospecting 

 trip for the purpose of ascertaining as nearly as possible what 

 localities in the area selected might be the most interesting for 

 more protracted examination, our stay at Mt. St. Helena was 

 limited to four days only, and on the afternoon of April 14 we 

 moved down the grade, on the northerly side of the ridge, two 

 miles to the Mountain Mill Hotel. This place is a small hos- 

 telry just inside the Lake County line, at an altitude of perhaps 

 1500 feet. It is situated in a very narrow valley one side of 

 which really forms the east, or northeast base proper of Mt. St. 

 Helena, and is visited chiefly at this time of year by anglers. 



At the bottom of this valley is a creek named on some maps 

 the St. Helena Creek, which runs past Middletown into the 

 Putah Creek, flowing into the Sacramento River basin. 



At this point Transition mingles with Upper Sonoran, and 

 close around the buildings are a few small open areas, almost 

 swallowed up by brush and woods, but for some miles down 

 stream it is all heavy forest, with the valley narrowing into a 

 canyon only to widen into a valley again as Middletown is 

 approached. The locality at first appeared to be a very likely 

 one for numerous species of bird life, but we were doomed to 

 disappointment, for birds were scarce. In fact, they appeared 

 to be scarce almost everywhere in the Transition zone. Here 

 we came across more of the summer visitants, such as the 

 Western House Wren (Troglodytes aedon parkmanni) and 

 Cassin's Vireo {Lanivireo solitarius cassini), seen on April 15, 

 and the Pacific Black-headed Grosbeak (Zamelodia rnelano- 

 cephala capitalist , on April 16. Along the stream were a few 

 Marin Song Sparrows (Melospica melodia gouldi), acting as 

 if they took a great interest in the locality with a view to 

 raising families there. 



There was little suitable brush for fox sparrows nearby, but 

 about half way up on a road leading to a walnut orchard and 



