238 THE CONDOR Voi<. X 



Sparrow of Kadiak Island. In other words, Passerella iliaca inerii hides (Vigors) ]j=P A. an- 

 nectens KiDG-WAM^ and/*. /. insiilaris RiDGWAY.are lumped together. To quote: "Both ««- 

 nectens and iiteruloides are believed to represent one form, which is inseparable from P. i. insu- 

 laris^\ However that may be, it is certainly a mistake to discard the name vieriiloides, which 

 has some sixty years priority over either of the other names and is without a shadow of a doubt 

 applicable to the Yakutat form. (See Condor IV, March 1902, p. 45.)— J. Grinnell, Berkeley, 

 Calif or n ia. 



Northern Range of the Phainopepla. — Phainopepla niteiis has been recorded along the 

 foothills of the Sierras at various places north as far as Marysville, but previous to my observa- 

 tions the northern limit in the Coast Range was Mt. Hamilton where R. II. Beck noted one bird 

 in November, 1899, and Ernest Adams also recorded a bird from near the same place on October 

 28, 1898. Joseph Mailliard reports having heard their note in Marin County, but has never seen 

 a bird. 



On June 23, 1907, while in the Arroyo IMocho in southern Alameda County, I saw six of 

 these birds which I took to be a family of four young and their parents. On April 1, 1908, near 

 the same place I again saw a pair of Phainopeplas, but failed to secure either bird. Later in the 

 year, however, while doing extended geological work in the Arroyo IMocho I again met with the 

 birds several times, and I believed several pairs to have raised broods this last summer. 



A nvimber of birds were seen at dtisk on July 21, 1908, and one yoimg male of the year was 

 taken, thias proving the birds to be breeding in Alameda County which probably marks their 

 most northerly limit. — J. R. PemberTon, Stanford University, California. 



Pacific Fulmars and Pacific Kittiwakes at Long Beach. - During February, 1908, I 

 observed several Pacific Fulmars {FuUnarus glacialis glupischa) , both light and dark phases, 

 about the pleasure wharf at Long Beach, California. These birds were exceedingly tame, swim- 

 ming about within a few inches of the numerous fish-lines and often making a dash for the 

 baited hooks as the fishermen cast them. Upon tossing a handful of fish scraps overboard I was 

 surprised to see the fulmars dive for the sinking pieces, sometimes going two or three feet under 

 water and bouncing almost clear of the surface upon returning. They were also somewhat 

 quarrelsome, fighting fiercely over a fish, uttering a harsh, rasping note the while. Several 

 Pacific Kittiwakes (/t' ma /. poUicaris) were also observed here. — C. B. LinTon, Long Beach, Cat. 



The European Chaffinch at Berkeley, California. — On May 14, 1908, while passing a gar- 

 den in Berkeley, near the corner of Prospect Street and Channing Way, my attention was at- 

 tracted by an unfamiliar song, and on stopping to ascertain the sou.rce, I was surprised to see a 

 European Chaffinch {Fringilla ccelebs) , in full plumage, singing cheerily in the lower branches 

 of an acacia tree. The bird was not more than ten feet distant and repeated his song three times 

 in full view, so that there was no mistake in identification. He had probably escaped from an 

 aviary in the neighborhood but seemed to be as much at home as any of the native birds and, 

 despite the raw, drizzling weather, was singing as merrily as a house finch. Notes of this kind 

 are perhaps worth recording as they may be useful in future in tracing the introduction of foreign 

 birds which may become acclimated in certain localities. — T. S. Pai^mer, Washington, D. C. 



The California Record of the Cape Robin Open to Question. — I recently visited the 

 home of Mr. W. Otto P^merson, at Haywards, California, and was accorded the privilege of 

 closely examining several of the record specimens in his extensive private collection. I was 

 particularly interested in scrutinizing the skin of "Mernla confinis'\ upon which (and it alone) 

 rests the inclusion of the Cape Robin as a bird of California. This bird is a female, No. 159 

 (Coll. W. O. E. ), and was secured by Mr. Emerson himself at Haj^wards, January?, 1882. It was 

 first recorded in Zoe, Vol. I, April 1890, p. 46. 



I was at once impressed with the similarity between it and certain pale female examples of 

 the Western Robin. Mr. Emerson and I proceeded to analyze its characters. A male of true 

 confinis, from Sierra de Laguna, lower California, was at hand for comparison. It was found 

 that the Haywards bird, altho a female, was not so pale as the Lower California bird. The breast 

 of the former showed a decided reddish caste, of the same quality as in females of ordinary pro- 

 pinqiia tho not so deep. The head of the Haywards ''confinis'' was colored exactly as in female 

 specimens of propinqua, the superciliary stripe being not continuous but broken as in the latter, 

 and the feathers on the top of the head being decidedly black-centered, also as in the latter. The 

 white area on the belly of the Haywards bird was found to be no more extensive than in female 

 examples of /'re/'/;/ (///rt, and the bills were identical in size, outline and color. The only char- 

 acter left, then, by which to identify the Haywards bird with trvie confinis was the decidedly ashy 

 dorsal surface. But this, in absence of the other characteristics, JMr. Emerson and I agreed to be 



