July, 1908 181 



FROM riELD AND STUDT 



Microscopic Subspecies.— While collecting- along the Kern River, Greenhorn Range, 

 Southern Sierras, about 45 miles from Bakersfield, Kern County, California, I secured several 

 vireos which upon comparison were determined to be Vireo huttoni. Upon sending them to Mr. 

 H. C. Oberholser, however, he identifies them as V. h. oberholseri Bishop. 



In discussing V. h. oberholseri in November Condor, described by Dr. L. B. Bishop (Condor 

 September, 1905, pp. 142-143) , Mr. Grinnell states that his series of 47 skins from Los Angeles 

 County (inclusive) to Siskiyou County, are distinctly /'. huttoni; but the specimen from Escon- 

 dido, San Diego County, is different, and referable to W h. oberholseri, as described by Dr. 

 Bishop. 



Doesn't it seem a bit curious that I'ireo huttoni oberholseri be found fairly common in Feb- 

 ruary and March in Kern County, with V. huttoni on all sides? 



Of course, being an amateur in ornithology, I can only open the question and leave it to 

 more advanced ornithologists to elucidate. I wish to add, however, that Mr. Oberholser identi- 

 fied my Santa Cruz Island Vireos [I'ireo ntailliardorunt <^rinne\\) as / '. huttoni. ]\Ir. Grinnell 

 identified my Kern County specimens as W huttoni! IMy specimens from Los Angeles County 

 they both identified as l\ huttoni. 



I do not mean this to be discourteous to the gentlemen who are responsible for these sub- 

 species. It is merely an example of existing conditions regarding the microscopic differences 

 upon which many subspecies are based; and to show the position in wliich young ornithologists 

 are placed thereby. I have a large number of subspecies that have been variously identified by 

 leading ornithologists. — C. B. LinTon, Lon^ Beach, California. 



The Virginia Kail (Rallus virginianus) Breeding in Mexico.— While carrying on field 

 investigations for the Biological Survey near Lerma, in the Valley of Toluca, State of Mexico, I 

 obtained a Virginia Rail and three sets of eggs (5, 4 and 6 respectively), July 8-10, 1904. The 

 nests were placed among tules (Scirpus) and cat-tail flags, in the large marshes forming the 

 headwaters of the Rio de Lerma, at about 8600 feet altitude. 



This is the first record of the nesting of Rallus virginianus in Mexico. — E. A. Goi^dman, 

 Biological Survey, Washington, D. C. 



A Correction. — The "Mexican Black Hawk" recorded by me in the July, 1907, Condor, 

 page 110, from San Diego County, California, is now determined to be a typical Buteo abbrevia- 

 tus. This specimen is, I believe, the second record for California. The first was taken by Dr. 

 J. G. Cooper in 1862, also in San Diego County. I secured this specimen within the city limits 

 of National City, San Diego Coxmty, California, November 26, 1906. 



I may add in self defence, that the identification as Urubitinga anthracina was made by sev- 

 eral ornithologists. Later Mr. Grinnell pronounced it Buteo abbreviatus. I then sent it to the 

 National Museum; it was returned labeled Buteo borealis calurus, melanistic phase. Mr. Ober- 

 holser now determines it to be Buteo abbreviatus, confirming Mr. Grinnell's decision. C. B. 



Linton, Long Beach, California. 



The Western Tanager in San Francisco.— On May 6, 1908, while passing thru Lafay- 

 ette Square ( a park two l)locks square in this city), I noticed a pair of unfamiliar birds flying 

 from tree to tree in a eiicalyptus hedge. I walked cautiously in their direction and was rewarded 

 by being able to get within ten feet of the male bird, a Western Tanager [Piranga ludoviciana) ; 

 that the other was a female I am not quite so certain. This species was not included in Ray's 

 "Summer Birds of San Francisco Cotmty", a paper which appeared in Thk Condor for March, 

 1906. — Clark C. Van Fi^eet, San Francisco, California. 



Otocoris alpestris insularis on the Mainland Coast. — On December 4, 1907, I observed 

 a large flock of O. a. insularis at Alamitos Bay, Los Angeles County, California, and secured one 

 adult male. I was positive of the identity of the specimen myself, but to be doiibly certain I 

 forwarded it to Mr. H. C. Oberholser, who confirms my identification. 



There is no doubt, in my mind, that O. a. insularis is a regular winter visitant to the main- 

 land coast district of Los Angeles County, at least. — C. B. Linton, Long Beach, California. 



The Southern Wmit of the Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Parus rufescens) on the 

 California Coast. — From my knowledge of the character of the humid coast belt of southern 

 Sonoma Count)-, and its similarity to the most southerly recorded habitat of Parus rufescens, I 

 have long suspected that this form of chickadee extended nnich further south than was ordinarily 

 supposed. Yet it was not until last May (1908) that I went into this doubtful region to prove 



