I50 



Bird - Lore 



One Caspian Tern was seen in company 

 with California and Ring-billed Gulls at 

 Bolsa Ctiica where many Ducks were in 

 the lagoons. Most numerous were the Pin- 

 tail and Shoveller. On the ocean beach 

 many hundreds of Gulls were assembled in 

 large flocks. 



On March 3, a few dark heads were seen 

 among the Bonaparte's Gulls at Playa del 

 Rey, and a pair of Red-breasted Mergans- 

 ers observed on the lagoon. March 16, 

 Marbled Godwits, Dowitchers, Western 

 Willets, and Sandpipers were on the tide 

 flats in large numbers, but Curlew appeared 

 to be wholly absent. Brandt's Cormorants 

 were in breeding plumage March 24 and 

 the Egrets in the harbor district numbered 



21. Glaucous- winged Gulls were observed 

 leaving for the North, and Black-necked 

 Stilts appeared in Nigger Slough. Semi- 

 palmated Plover were noted April i, also 

 2 Caspian Terns at the harbor, and Cali- 

 fornia and Glaucous-winged Gulls were 

 leaving. 



The Northern Violet Green Swallow led 

 the van of arriving land-birds from the 

 South, making his first recorded appear- 

 ance on February 19, a full month ahead 

 of the Rufous Hummingbird. Costa's 

 Hummingbird pushed his previous early 

 date forward by about three weeks, arriv- 

 ing in considerable numbers on February 



22, while the Rufous, if present, was not 

 noticed until March 18. Cliff and Bank 



Swallows arrived on schedule time, and 

 the wintering Tree Swallows had their 

 numbers augmented by fresh arrivals. 

 Purple Martins took up their regular 

 quarters in Whittier and Long Beach on 

 March 27 and 30, respectively. March 15, 

 brought the first Arizona Hooded Oriole, 

 but they were not common until ten days 

 later, when Bullock's also was noted. To 

 date, only one Black-headed Grosbeak has 

 been listed, arriving March 21. The first 

 Western Tanager was seen April 7, an 

 early date for this locality. On April i 

 Black-necked Stilts were again noted at 

 Nigger Slough in company with Long-billed 

 Dowitchers and Greater Yellow-legs. 

 Among the Ducks, Green-winged and 

 Cinnamon Teal were noted in company 

 with Pintail and Shoveller. Cinnamon 

 Teal were again noted with Baldpate 

 April 7. Yellow-headed Blackbirds were 

 seen on the above date at Nigger Slough, 

 where the Tule Wrens are nesting. Lutes- 

 cent, Pileolated, Black - throated Gray, 

 Calaveras, Townsend's and Macgillivray's 

 Warblers have arrived, in the order 

 named, while Audubon's is still here in high 

 plumage and in song. Warbling, Cassin's 

 and Least Vireos are daily arriving. April 7, 

 a pair of Cabanis' Woodpeckers were seen 

 entering a freshly excavated hole in a tree 

 on the bank of the San Gabriel River near 

 Whittier. — Frances B. Schneider, Los 

 Angeles, Calif. 



'^^ ^iittt-e* 



