1915 BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA 173 
541 (768) Sialia currucoides (Bechstein) 
Mountain BLUEBIRD 
Synonyms—Sialia arctica; Arctic Bluebird; Rocky Mountain Bluebird. 
Status—Loecally common as a summer visitant chiefly to arid Transition 
and Boreal on the Sierra Nevada, and on the desert ranges to the eastward; 
north to Mount Shasta (C. H. Merriam, N. Amer. Fauna no. 16, 1899, p. 133), 
and the Warner Mountains (Mus. Vert. Zool.) ; south to San Bernardino Moun- 
tains (Moreom, Ridgw. Orn. Club, bull. no. 2, 1887, p. 57). Also in the inner 
northern coast ranges: Wild Cat Peak, Siskiyou County (Mus. Vert. Zool.) ; 
Mount Sanhedrin (Stone, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1904, p. 585); South 
Yolla Bolly Mountain (Ferry, Condor, x, 1908, p. 44). Ranges irregularly in 
winter throughout Upper and Lower Sonoran, on the deserts and west to the 
ee even to the Farallon Islands (W. E. Bryant, Proce. Calif. Acad. Sei., 2nd 
, 1, 1888, p. 50), and south to San Diego Tait MS) ; but not in the pete 
ern Sec coast belt. 
SPECIES CREDITED TO CALIFORNIA ON 
UNSATISFACTORY GROUNDS 
The following lst of ‘‘hypotheticals’’ contaims the names of certain birds 
which at one time or another have been ascribed to California, but which do not 
now seem to merit claim to regular standing. In some eases there is doubt as 
to the fact of their occurrence, through natural means, or even otherwise, within 
the present confines of the state. In other cases their validity as species or sub- 
species is in doubt; most cases of this category have, however, been disposed of in 
the preceding lists of synonyms, and can be located through the Index. 
In addition, there are yet a good many other bird names, not mentioned in 
this contribution at all, and which have been associated with the geographic name 
“‘California’’. These occur mostly in the writings of early date, at a time when 
“‘California’’ was a much more extensive, and undefined, portion of the west. 
In many eases birds known only from Lower California, Mexico, have been 
referred to in general works as from simply California. Also southern Califor- 
nia (that is, the southern part of the state) has sometimes, even within recent 
years, been confused with Lower California, especially in foreign works the 
authors of which had evidently not posted themselves upon the geography of 
western North America. 
To ferret out from the great volume of general ornithological literature all 
of these ascriptions is a task which the writer has never attempted. The follow- 
ing 61 cases are believed to include the more important of our doubtful records, 
such as merit consideration because of ostensibly valid claims or because of repe- 
tition in the more familiar literature. 
An entirely different category of occurrences has to do with man’s impor- 
tation and release of non-native song and game species. This deplorable custom 
continues in spite of the good biologie and economic arguments which have been 
