May, 1893.] BIRDS OF THE DEATH VALLEY EXPEDITION. 95 



Junco pinosus. Point Pinos Junco. 



This species lias been described by Mr. Leverett M. Loorais since the 

 return of the expedition. Juncos which were seen at Monterey by Dr. 

 Merriam and Mr. Bailey undoubtedly belong to this species. 



Amphispiza bilineata. Black-throated Sparrow. 



The black -throated desert sparrow is one of the most abundant and 

 characteristic birds of the Lower Sonoran zone, in which it breeds 

 abundantly. The writer first observed the species in the Funeral 

 Mountains, at the summit of Furnace Creek Canon, on March 22, while 

 on the return trip to Death Valley from Ash Meadows, Nevada. The 

 four or five males which were seen evidently had just arrived, as Mr. 

 Bailey and Mr. Nelson, who had passed over the same route a few days 

 before, saw none. The bird was common on both slopes of the Pana- 

 inint Mountains, in Johnson and Surprise canons, during the first three 

 weeks of April, where it was in full song most of the time. It was 

 common in the Argus range from the valley to the summit. In Coso 

 Valley, below Maturango Spring, Mr. Palmer and the writer found 

 several nests. On May 12 two were discovered, one containing three 

 young and the other four eggs, and on May 13 a nest was found just 

 completed. In the Coso Mountains this sparrow was common, and its 

 nest was found in various kinds of bushes, though the branching cac- 

 tus (Opuntia eeMnocarpa) seemed to be the most common site. A nest 

 containing eggs was found near the road between Darwin and Keeler 

 as late as May 30. 



When Mr. Bailey and the writer returned to Death Valley in the 

 latter part of June, they did not find this bird in the valley proper, but 

 found it a few hundred feet above, in Death Valley Canon, and all 

 through the Panamint Mountains. The same observers found it com- 

 mon both on the east and west slope of Walker Pass, in the Sierra 

 Nevada, on July 1-3, and the former saw several on the South Fork of 

 the Kern Eiver July 3-10. 



Dr. Merriam furnishes the following notes on the species as observed 

 by him on the trip to and from St. George, Utah: "In California it was 

 common on the Mohave Desert, between the mouth of Cajon Pass and 

 Pilot Knob, in the early part of April; and at the west end of the desert 

 (Antelope Valley) June 27, and was found also near Lone Willow 

 Spring, in Windy Gap, in Death Valley, in Emigrant Canon, and in 

 Leach Point Valley. In Owens Valley, California, it was common in the 

 Lower Sonoran zone where it ranges north on* the east side of the val- 

 ley as far as Alvord, and was found in Deep Spring Valley, Nevada (June 

 9). In Nevada it was common also in Pahrump Valley (the commonest 

 sparrow April 29), in Vegas Valley, at the Great Bend of the Colorado 

 (where a nest containing two fresh eggs was collected May 4), along the 

 Virgin River Valley (nests containing fresh eggs found at Bunkerville 

 early in May), in Desert Valley just east of the Pahroc Mountains 

 (May 20), on the plain below Pahroc Spring (May 22), in Pahranagat 



