1 913 ] Griniicll-Sirarth : Birds and Mammals of San Jacinto 229 



desert surroundings. On May 27 a flock of six adults was 

 encountered at a spring on the brink of Deep Canon, where a 

 flock of Lophortyx gambeli had been flushed earlier in the day; 

 and on May 29 a single mountain quail was again seen at the 

 same place. On May 26 a flock of adults, and on May 31 a 

 brood of young, was observed along Carrizo Creek, near Dos 

 Palmos Spring. The mountain quail seen at these neighboring 

 points were probably all wanderers from the nearby Upper Son- 

 oran pifion belt, attracted by the occasional springs along the 

 lower canons and washes. 



On June 12 and 13 small flocks of adults were noted in dif- 

 ferent gulches in the vicinity of Potrero Spring, canons tribu- 

 tary to Palm Canon, from the east. This again is a region where 

 Lophortyx gambeli is abundant. 



The flocks of half-grown young seen in Tahquitz Valley, and 

 the older immatures observed later, on Thomas Mountain, when 

 startled, frequently behaved in a manner quite different from 

 the usual habit of the adult mountain quail, and much like that 

 of the forest-inhabiting species of grouse. Instead of running 

 they took to the trees, where they sat motionless, and were very 

 hard to see or to dislodge. 



In all, nineteen specimens were secured : Schain 's Ranch, four 

 (nos. 1780-1783) ; Fuller's Mill, two (nos. 1867. 1868) ; Tahquitz 

 Valley, three (nos. 2869-2871) ; Hemet Lake, one (no. 2956) ; 

 Thomas Mountain, seven (nos. 3008-3014) ; Kenworthy, one (no. 

 2250); and Santa Rosa Peak, one (no. 2469). 



According to the A. O. U. Check-List (1910, p. 135) the 

 habitat of O. p. conflnis, described originally from the San Pedro 

 Martir Mountains, Lower California, extends north to include 

 the mountains of southern California, even to the San Gabriel 

 Mountains. It will have been noted from the heading of this 

 account that we are not in accord with the idea reflected in the 

 statement just referred to. Although we have no material from 

 the San Pedro Martir region, we are fortunate in being able 

 to compare adequate series from southern and east-central Cali- 

 fornia. 



The two characters offered by the describer of con finis (An- 

 thony, 1889, p. 74) are, as compared with phi mi f era, relatively 



