130 DENDROCYGNA BI COLOR 



Joaquin Valley where it is common (Barnhart, 1901; Grinnell, Bryant and Storer, 1918). It nests 

 commonly throughout southern California (Grinnell, Bryant and Storer, 1918), specifically at Los 

 Angeles, San Jacinto Lake, Tulare Lake and Summit Lake (J. Grinnell, 1915). In Nevada it has 

 w . occurred at Washoe Lake (Hoffman, 1887) and at Carson (Ridgway, Field and Stream, 



vol. 36, p. 435, 1890). According to Cooke (1906) it is a resident species at Fort Whipple, 

 Arizona, and Brown (Auk, vol. 23, p. 218, 1906) states that it is fairly common in winter in the south- 

 Arizona western part of that State. In Texas the species seems to be confined to the south- 

 Texas eastern part and perhaps the littoral north to Louisiana. In summer it is found in 

 the Rio Grande Valley north to the sources of the Nueces, and in the winter is pretty common in 

 the interior, on the North Concho River (Strecker, 1912). Dresser (1866) found it commonly at 

 Galveston, while in the extreme southeast part of the State he found it occasionally at Brownsville. 

 Merrill (1878), however, records it as common in the same vicinity, while Coues (1903) states that it 

 is common on the Rio Grande. A recent writer (Strecker, 1912) gives Cameron and Hidalgo Counties 

 as its habitat. In Louisiana the species seems to occur only in the southern parts, being resident at 

 - . . Lake Catherine, the Rigolets and at New Orleans (Cooke, 1906). Strangely enough it 

 almost invariably appears there not in summer, but in fall and winter. Though con- 

 siderable flocks have been noted, its appearance in Louisiana is decidedly irregular (Beyer, Allison 

 and Kopman, 1907). Besides the records for Washington and Vancouver above mentioned the species 

 Missouri nas straggled as far north as New Madrid, Missouri, in 1890 (Ridgway, Field and 

 North Stream, vol. 36, p. 435, 1890), and on the east coast to Swan Island, North Carolina, 

 Carolina Ju i y) 1886 (p ea rson, Brimley and Brimley, 1919). 



In Mexico the species is widely distributed and breeds from Lake Chapala and the Valle de Mexico 

 north, while in winter it goes south to Guerrero and Chiapas (Cooke, 1906). Lawrence (1874) gives a 

 ,. . full account of its occurrence on the west coast in Tepic, Sinaloa and Sonora ; and San- 



ford, Bishop and Van Dyke (1903) speak of it as abundant at Mazatlan. It has been 

 found also in Lower California (Cooke, 1906). For the interior it has been recorded from San Luis 

 Potosi (Richardson, British Museum), while in the Valle de Mexico it is common, especially in winter 

 (Herrera, 1888; Sanchez, 1877-78; Villada, 1891-92). Finsch and Hartlaub (1870) give Deppe's 

 record for Vera Cruz, while in Tabasco it appears to be common, having been recorded from numerous 

 localities in the Province by Rovirosa (1887). 



It has been customary to speak of this species as not occurring between southern Mexico and 

 southeastern Brazil. Those taken in Ecuador and Peru have been regarded as undoubtedly strag- 

 South glers; and its presence in Venezuela and Trinidad was regarded skeptically even by 



America Cooke (1906). This position has, to say the least, been hastily taken. Our ornitho- 



logical knowledge of many parts of South America is very inadequate. Recent investigations seem, 

 T . . . . I think, to indicate that the present species is of regular occurrence in northwestern 



South America. It certainly occurs on Trinidad and breeds there (Leotaud, 1866; F. M. 

 Chapman, 1894). It has furthermore been recorded as breeding, though not commonly, on the coast 

 . of the Guianas (F. P. and A. P. Penard, 1908-10). C. B. Dawson (1916) also includes 



it in his list of the birds of British Guiana. In Venezuela it was found apparently not 

 rare on the Caura River (Andre, 1904) while very recently F. M. Chapman (1917) has shown that it 

 Venezuela * s S eneraH y distributed and fairly common in the tropical zone of Colombia, occurring 

 also at Bogota, while specimens have been taken at Cali and La Herrera. In the light 

 of these valuable investigations, we may regard the records for Vinces, Ecuador (Cooke, 1906) and 

 Colomhia Moyobamba, Peru (Taczanowski, 1886) as less remarkable than has been considered 

 heretofore. A most astonishing locality for Tree Ducks is Lake Junin, Peru, altitude 

 over 11,000 feet, where in April, 1920, Lord William Percy shot a single specimen and saw at least a 

 Ecuador dozen others. I know of no other records for such high altitudes (W. Percy collection, 



Peru London). 



