Nov., 1908 FROM FIELD AND STUDY 237 



ren at this point. The vegetation of the desert, saltbush [Atriplex) and mesquite [Prosopis] 

 in scrubby form being the only vegetation noticeable except where the pumping plant of some 

 rancher has made an oasis. At the station yard, however, a four inch well pipe has been sunk to 

 a depth of eleven hundred and fifty feet where an artesian stratum was tapped which forces a 

 gentle flow from the top of the pipe which overhangs the tank car siding. This small bvit con- 

 stant leakage has nurtured a small grove of cottonwoods and a very limited tule patch. 



The bird was first noted hopping about the trucks and platforms of the tank cars and was 

 finally taken from the timbers of the tank support. The bird gave only its call note but this 

 was heard repeatedly. The actions were those described by Chapman and others as being so 

 characteristic. The teetering action and stout shanks remind one forcibly of the Dippers. 



The bird flushed several times and seemed not at all shy tho restless as is its habit. 

 Whether or not the same bird was seen each time is impossible to tell. Time did not permit 

 very extensive or prolonged search after the one specimen was taken. Plumage was complete 

 and testes inactive. The identification I feel to be unquestionable as the bird fits perfectly the 

 careful description and measurements of Chapman in his "Warblers of North America." 



It seems quite unusual to find this bird of the southeastern swamp and thicket so out of his 

 sphere as to associate intimately with the Abert Towhee and Leconte Thrasher in the midst of a 

 great south-western desert. 



If our esteemed editor can assure me of this being a state record I shall be glad to deposit 

 the specimen with the University Museum of Vertebrate Zoology where I consider such record 

 specimens should be preserved. — Toye; Hoi^mes M^ylx,^^, State Normal School, Los Angeles, Cal. 



[Yes; the specimen is unequivocally Seinrus motacilla, and establishes the first record for 

 the species not only for California, but also as far as I know for the whole of the United States 

 west of the Mississippi Valley. In accordance with Mr. Miller's generous offer, the skin has 

 been added to the ornithological collection of the University of California Museum of Vertebrate 

 Zoology, and is number 1105. — ^J. G.] 



Late Nesting of the Green-backed Goldfinch.— On September 24, 1908, I took a set of 

 four fresh eggs of the Green-backed Goldfinch from a cypress tree on one of our city streets, dis-' 

 turbing the parent bird from the nest. This seems to me a remarkable occurrence, as my latest 

 previous date for nesting of the species was July 21; — C. S. vSharp, Escondido, California. 



The Present Status of the Least Tern in Southern Cahfornia.— I have noticed this 

 season that the Least Tern {Sterna antillarnin) seems to be on the increase at nearly all of the 

 breeding grounds in Southern California. 



The colony at Ballona Beach (this is the narrow strip of sand between Del Rey and Ocean 

 Park) is nearly double what it was last year. As nearly as I could count, I should say that there 

 were about 125 pairs of nesting birds. I watched this pretty closely, and do not think that more 

 than ten per cent hatched because of the depredations of dogs mostly, and of small boys. This 

 colony will surely disappear, and why the birds keep coming back I cannot see, as the whole 

 thing (both island and mainland being cut up into building lots) is rapidly being built up with 

 svimmer cottages. Some of the nests were not more than a hundred yards from the houses. 



The Redondo Beach colony seems this year to be deserted. I noticed a few birds flying 

 around, but no nests. This used to be a big colony, but the building of so many houses has 

 driven the birds away. 



The colonies at Bolsa Beach and Newport Beach were very thickly inhabited. The birds 

 were there by the thousands, and I found it impossible to count them. The colony at Bolsa 

 Beach is mostly within the grounds of the Bolsa Chica Gun Club and ought to increase every 

 year, as the gun club people allow no one on the grounds. I should say that fully seventy-five 

 per cent of the birds in this colony raised two or three broods. 



The Newport Beach colony is split up into two or three main colonies, and this year a new 

 one was started on a lot of reclaimed land. The land company had dredged the channels and 

 filled a salt marsh up with the sand taken out where the channels were cut. This formed a nice 

 white patch of sand and shells where the Terns made themselves perfectly at home. This colony 

 probably succeeded in hatching sixty per cent of its eggs. 



Both the Bolsa Beach and the Newport Beach colonies have increased about fifty percent 

 over last year. The electric cars run directly thru the Bolsa Beach colony and the terns get so 

 used to them that they very seldom leave their nests when a car passes. — W. LEE Chambers 

 Santa Monica, Califorjiia 



Subspecific Names in the Genus Passerella. — According to the decision of the A. O. U. 



Coiumittee, as stated in the Fourteenth Supplement [Aiik XXV, July 1908, p. 395), the Fox 

 Sparrow from Yakutat Bay should not be recognized in nomenclature as different from the Fox 



