No. 2.] HOFFMAN ON THE BIRDS OF NEVADA. 211 



around Bull Eun, where it appeared to be couflued more particularly 

 to the areas covered with mountain mahogany. None were observed 

 south of Hot Spring Canon, GO miles northeast of Belmont. Mr. Ilen- 

 shaw says " they winter among the pines and in the brushy ravines," 

 probably referring to the eastern slope of the Sierras west of Carson 

 City, where most of his observations were made. Mr. Eidgway found 

 this bird on the Euby Mountains in July and August, "only in the upper 

 portion of the timber belt at an elevation of from 9,000 to 11,000 feet, 

 where it nested both among the rocks and in the deserted holes of 

 woodpeckers among the stunted pine, cedar, or mahogany trees. The 

 same observer also found this species at the East and West Humboldt 

 Mountains, in the Toyabe Mountains, and Washoe and Truckee Valleys. 

 Dr. Cooper says it has been found at Fort Yuma in winter. It is very 

 X^robable that the species winters in the wooded j)ortions of the Colorado 

 Valley, north of Fort Mojave, but as the warm weather approaches it 

 no doubt follows the timbered ranges west of that region, as the country 

 immediately west and north of the river is a desert region with but few 

 examples of arboreal vegetation, though instead, furnishing an abund- 

 ance of Cactacece, Yucca, «&c. 



SYLVIID^. 



Myiadestes townsendi (Aud.) Oaban. — Townsend's Solitaire. 



This species seems to prefer the higher coniferous regions, and is more 

 frequently found on the Sierras, northward to the Cascade Mountains 

 and westward, than on the eastern slopes. Mr. Eidgway reports it as 

 occurring on the timbered interior ranges, especially among the cedar 

 groves. 



Fhainopepla nitens (Sw.) Scl. — Black-crested Flycatcher. 



Mr. Eidgway found this bird in the western portion of Nevada, where 

 it is supposed to be a rare summer visitor. It was observed, however, 

 in the valley at the northern slope of Mount Magruder, on the eastern 

 timbered foot-hills of the Inyo Eange, west of Columbus, and again at 

 Spring Mountain, near the "Old Spanish Trail," though only at rare in- 

 tervals. Dr. Cooper found this species numerous on the Colorado in the 

 winter, and states that they " do not migrate much south of latitude 

 35°," leaving again in April for the north. When once seen, this bird 

 is not easily mistaken for any other species on account of its brilliant 

 black plumage and the white spot on the spread wings, which become 

 very prominent and conspicuous in flight. 



PoUojytila cccrnlea (Linn.) Set. — Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. 



This species is reported from the Colorado Valley, where it was noted 

 on March 20. Mr. Eidgway remarks : " In the chaparral of the western 

 foot-hiUs of the Sierra Nevada we observed in July a species of this 



