172 



Bird - Lore 



ticular locality, for a week later the pair 

 were evidently building. On March 6 the 

 trill of the Lutescent Warbler was heard 

 in the canon, and on March 20 the brilliant 

 plumage of the Pileolated Warbler be- 

 trayed his presence in the willows along 

 Strawberry Creek. 



The last five days in March were spent 

 with the Water Ouzels in the Santa Cruz 

 Mountains. A pair was found building in 

 the same water-washed groove in a 

 boulder in the middle of the river where, 

 in the late summer last year, I had pried 

 away its mossy nest. The male was a faith- 

 ful guard, giving the alarm whenever I 

 approached the water, so that I found it 

 more profitable to watch the process 

 through field-glasses from the top of the 

 bluff above. The cheery Wren-like song 

 contained two clear whistling notes of 

 Thrush quality. 



During the five days in the mountains, 

 the return of the Warbling Vireo and 

 Western Flycatcher was noted, and a flock 

 of a dozen or more Violet-Green Swallows 

 was seen several times gathering insects 

 over the river. One sunny, warm day the 

 Cliff Swallows also appeared and investi- 

 gated the eaves of a large barn where they 

 had built their mud houses last year. But 

 a colder day put them to rout and they 

 were not seen again. 



Easter Sunday in the Bay region was a 

 day which we call typical, no matter in 

 what country we live. Nothing more beau- 

 tiful has ever been described by poet or 

 depicted by painter, and all the lovers of 

 the outdoors, whether animals or men, 

 seemed to be making the most of it. Dur- 

 ing the week that followed, migrating 

 Gulls were heard several times as they 

 formed their ranks for their long journey. 

 The tiny Rufous Hummingbird stopped on 

 his way to Alaska to sip the honey from 

 California flowers. 



The permanent residents have been 

 busy with courtship or nest-building, the 

 most prominent singers on the hillside being 

 the Thrasher, Purple Finch, Vigors Wren, 

 Wrentit, Nuttall Sparrow, and Titmouse. 

 On March i the Thrasher anticipated the 

 dawn by two and a half hours, singing a 



full-throated song in a drenching ain at 

 half-past three in the morning. 



Of the winter visitants, I have missed, 

 since early in April the songs of the Inter- 

 mediate Sparrows and Varied Thrushes. 

 The latter had been present in the woods 

 to the west of my house throughout the 

 winter, and their weird, composite whistle 

 had often been the first sound to be heard 

 in the early morning. The note suggests 

 the first note in the song of the Dwarf 

 Hermit Thrush, and the repetition in a 

 different key is also suggestive of the same 

 relationship. I wonder if possibly there is 

 a strain following these whistled notes 

 which is inaudible to the human ear. 



The most unusual record reported for 

 the region was that of Evening Grosbeaks 

 which came to the garden of Mrs. A. C. 

 Schlesinger in Oakland to feed on maple 

 seeds. They appeared on February 27 and 

 have been seen occasionally since then, 

 coming every few days and remaining for 

 an hour or two at a time. — Amelia S. 

 Allen, Berkeley, Calif. 



Los Angeles Region. — The earliest 

 spring migrant, a Rufous Hummingbird, 

 was recorded at Hollywood on January 9. 

 This species occurs quite regularly in late 

 January, but the record above seems un- 

 usual. First record for the Allen Hummer 

 was February 18. The first male Arizona 

 Hooded Oriole appeared February 14, 

 while the female was not seen until eight 

 days later. The Bullock species, sometimes 

 seen in late February, was not noted this 

 spring until March 19. 



Lutescent Warblers inaugurated the sea- 

 son for their family on February 25, a very 

 early date. Their numbers increased 

 rapidly. They were notably bright in 

 plumage, and in full song soon after 

 March 15, their plumage and song making 

 them notably conspicuous as they fed upon 

 the rose-infesting aphis and other tidbits 

 that delight the avian palate. Other 

 Warblers, later arrivals, were the Black- 

 throated Gray, Golden Pileolated, Cala- 

 veras, MacGillivrays, and the California 

 Yellow. The Warbling Vireo appeared 

 March 11. 



