222 Jerrries, Birds observed at Santa Barbara. [July 
nis nigricans before the migration arrived. Hmpzdonax diffi- 
célés and Sfinus psaltria appeared March 18, S. ¢rzs¢és, much 
less common than fsaltrza, on March 20. 
A single Robin was shot from the saddle out of a flock of three 
or four flying over a road on a canon side. However, as the 
horse declined to stop for some distance, it was not marked down 
and could not be found. No more were seen by us. 
It not being possible for us to hire the only boat in the town, as 
it was in constant use as a fisherman, we were not able to do any 
collecting off shore. Cormorants were abundant, sunning them- 
selves on the piles of an old wharf, but well out of our reach. 
Scoters in large flocks and many Divers used as a feeding ground 
the strip of water about one quarter of a mile or less broad 
between the beach and the seaweed which, growing very long 
and lying on the surface of the water in dense masses, forms 
a very fair breakwater along the entire beach at Santa Barbara, 
the line of seaweed being approximately parallel with the beach 
line. 
Occasionally we saw Scoters sunning themselves on the crest of 
the beach, and by running our horses so as to head them off man- 
aged to take a few. All were Ocdemia perspicillata. 
On foggy mornings, if by chance we could shoot a single Gull, 
others were soon decoyed in to the fallen bird; in this way, though 
not caring from such data to hazard an opinion as to their relative 
abundance, we took Larus elaucescens, L. occidentalis, and L. 
californicus, and did not consider either species as rare. 
A small flock of Gallinules lived in a patch of reeds on th® 
edge of a lagoon into which Alergus serrator came rarely. 
Cistothorus palustris paludicola, from lack of proper ground, 
was also rare. 
On the crown of the beach Ofocorés alpestris rubea, An- 
thus pensilvanicus and Hgialitis vocifera were all abundant. 
Ee gialitis, we thought we had good reason to believe was breed- 
ing, but failed to find a nest. Of the Ammodramz, A. beldingt 
was more often taken at or next tothe shore line, A. sandwich- 
ensts alaudimus more inland. 
Tachycineta thalassina in abundance, JZ. 4b¢color sparingly, 
were seen more frequently at the water’s edge than inland, but 
were found occasionally well up the valley. 
All of the foregoing were taken previous to March 24, on 
