THE SEMI-ANNUAL. 31 



start a new growth of wild flowers and grasses, great flocks of 

 Sand Hill Cranes feed daily and then fly away towards the 

 ocean. Thousands of the Snow Goose, White-fronted Goose, 

 White-cheeked Goose and Cackling Goose, also feed in the same 

 localities on the borders of this desert. The flocks usually come 

 before daylight and return about 10 o'clock, to San Jacinto and 

 Elsinore Lakes, which are over the hills to the southwest. 

 Egrets and Great Blue Herons are also often seen. 



Of small birds the Black-throated Sparrows are very abundant 

 wherever they find a few bushes and I saw young birds able to 

 fly and also found fresh eggs from April 20th to 30th of last 

 Spring. 



Yellow-headed Tits were rather common and T found several 

 of their cocoanut-shaped nests. Costa's, Anna's, Rufus and 

 Black-chinned Hummingbirds were numerous and while part ol 

 the nests held eggs, others had full grown young. 



The Western Red-tail, Swainson's, Sparrow and Ferruginous 

 Rough-leg Hawks were seen, as were also Short-eared, Barn and 

 some species of Pigmy Owl, but could not find their eggs. 



Among the palms in the canons, Bullock's and Arizona 

 Hooded Orioles were nesting in numbers and eggs and skins of 

 the House Finch, Western Tanager and both Lawrence's and 

 Arkansas Goldfinch were secured. Gambels Qiiail were by no 

 means scarce and those taken were of a paler type than my 

 Arizona specimens. Up towards the pines, or San Jacinto, 

 Mountain Quail and California Jays are abundant. Where the 

 mountain streams flow onto the plain, near Palm Springs, I 

 found a large flock of Yellow-headed Blackbirds, with a few 

 Brewer's Blackbirds keeping them company. 



Here also were Coots, several White-faced Glossy Ibis, a pair 

 of Cinnamon Teal and some Sora Rail. The Indian boys 

 brought me several of the last that they had killed with arrows. 



Warblers of several species were taken, including the western 

 representative of our Yellow Warbler. Black-crested and Ash- 

 throated Flycatchers were seen every day, with an occasional 

 Western Lark Finch and California Bluebird. 



I also found many nests of the Cactus Wren, which abounds 

 wherever certain species of cactus grows. Blue-headed Gnat- 



