Vol. IX] MAILLIARD— AVIFAUNA OF THE INNER COAST RANGE 281 



Little climbed to the top of the mountain range back of the 

 springs in search of fox sparrows but failed to find any suitable 

 brush for them. He brought back with him a thrush which I 

 have placed with the Monterey Hermit Thrush (Hylocichla 

 guttata slevini), but which seems to be intermediate between 

 that form and nana. 



Here we found the Slender-billed Nuthatch {Sitta carolinensis 

 acideata), and the Plain Titmouse {Bceolophus hiornatus inor- 

 natus), for the first time on the trip. The Black-throated Gray 

 Warbler (Dendroica nigrescens), we found present in con- 

 siderable numbers, with indications of its breeding there, or in 

 the vicinity. Unfortunately, on a reconnaissance of this sort, 

 time does not permit one to devote much attention to the find- 

 ing of nests, which is often slow, tedious work, for the spring- 

 time passes rapidly and we had much to do. Besides our 

 ornithological work we set out traps for small mammals every 

 night, which had to be attended to in the mornings before we 

 could think of the birds. So it can be said that our discovery 

 of nests was more or less incidental, although ever on the 

 watch for signs of them. There were very few Blue-fronted 

 Jays in this part of the country, but we were informed that 

 they gather here in numbers during the fall and winter. 



Having examined this locality as much as we desired at 

 this time, on the evening of April 24 we moved to 



Castle Springs, Lake County, California 



This place is a resort with various sorts of hot and cold 

 springs, four or five miles west of Middletown, on Castle 

 Mountain at an altitude of about 2800 feet. The buildings 

 are situated upon a short, steep-sided spur projecting from 

 the eastern slope of the range, with the mountain rising back 

 of it several hundred feet higher. While there are extensive 

 tracts of timber on the east side below this elevation, most of 

 the country above it is covered with brush, the timber running 

 up only in the deeper gullies and canyons. A large proportion 

 of the brush is chamisal, with patches of ceanothus, and thick 

 growths of small spindly trees of various sorts, the whole 

 mountain showing evidences of having been frequently swept 

 by fires, which might account for the scarcity of rodents. 



