1914] (IriinirU : Mammals and Birds of the Colorado Valley 149 



Sayornis sayiis sayus (Bonaparte) 

 Say Phoebe 



In February and early March this species was met with in small 

 numbers out on the desert mesas as well as on the lower slopes of the 

 hills. But it was not found in the wooded bottom lands of the broader 

 valleys nor along the river banks except where the rocky hills abutted 

 close upon the water. The bird was evidently wintering in the region, 

 as the several individuals seen in the town of Needles upon our arrival 

 there. February 15, were much smoke-begrimed, showing that their 

 plumage had been exposed to the local conditions for some consider- 

 able time. 



The Say phoebe was further noted at Mellen, among The Needles, 

 and above Bill Williams River, on the Arizona side; and, on the Cali- 

 fornia side, opposite The Needles. As the season advanced this species 

 was met with only sparingly and in the vicinity of nesting sites. A 

 pair was noted at Ehrenberg March 28, flying about some adobe ruins. 

 On the California side opposite Cibola, April 3. a pair was found in 

 a steep-sided ravine two miles back from the river. A last year's nest, 

 of usual contraction and containing one dried egg, was found on a 

 narrow shelf of rock itself a part of an overhanging conglomerate 

 wall. A single bird was noted ten miles south of Cibola near some 

 adobe ruins. Another was taken April 12 among the hills twenty 

 miles north of Picacho. The species was last seen at Potholes, where 

 one was observed on a telephone wire near the head works of the canal, 

 April 29. Seven specimens were preserved, nos. 12861-12867. 



Sayornis nigricans (Swainson) 



Black Phoebe 



Met with only during the early part of the season, and only close 

 along the river, where it was fairly common. Favorite perches were 

 tips of snags on mud bars, or twigs of trees fallen over into the river 

 through undercutting of the bank. The species was noted at Needles. 

 five miles below Needles, at Mellen. on both sides of the river in the 

 vicinity of The Needles, in Chemehuevis Valley, at Riverside Mountain, 

 and at Ehrenberg. One, the last noted, was seen on the California side 

 opposite Cibola, April 5. As far as it goes, the evidence would seem 

 to show that the black phoebe is only a winter visitant in the Colorado 

 Valley. Five specimens were preserved, nos. 12868-12872. 



