148 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. 



1X0.7. 



Sialia mexicana. "Western Bluebird. 



The western bluebird was common in a number of places. At San 

 Bernardino a flock of twenty or more was seen December 29. 1S90; in 

 Cajon Pass, March 30; in the cotton woods bordering- the Mohave 

 River at Victor, the same day, and at Granite Wells January 13. 

 Mr. Nelson found the species common near Hot Springs, in Panamint 

 Valley, California, in January, and a few at Pahrump and Vegas ranches 

 in Nevada, in February and March. Dr. Merriam saw several small 

 flocks on the north side of Telescope Peak, in the Panamint Mountains, 

 April 17-19, and Mr. Nelson found it on the western slope of the Sierra 

 Nevada in August. It was very common along the South Fork of 

 the Kern River, July 3-10; in Walker Basin, from the valley to the 

 summit of the ridge, July 13-16, and in the Canada de las Uvas, June 

 28-29. In the High Sierra it was not uncommon at Sequoia National 

 Park during the first week of August; was common in Horse Corral 

 Meadows and Kings River Canon August 9-16, and was observed at 

 Big Cottonwood Meadows and at the head of the Kaweah River later 

 in the season. In the western foothills of the Sierra, at Three Rivers, 

 it was common July 25-30 Tmd September 12-16 ; and at Monterey, Sep- 

 tember 28-October 9. Mr. Nelson saw a few in various parts of the 

 San Joaquin Valley in October, and found it common along the route 

 from San Simeon to Carpenteria and Santa Paula in November and 

 December. 



Record of specimens collected of Sialia mexicana. 



Col- 





lector's 



Sex. 



No. 





13 



? 



14 



d 



15 



d 





d 



370 



? Jut. 



39 



d 



Locality. 



San Bernardino, Calif 



do 



do 



Charleston Mountains, Kev 



Kern River, Calif 



Sierra Nevada, Calif 



Date. 



Dec. 29,1890 



....do 



....do 



Feb. 13,1891 

 July 4,1891 

 Sept. 14, 1891 



Collector. 



A. K. Fisher . 



...do 



...do 



E. W. Kelson 

 A. K. Fisher . 



B. H. Butcher Mount W hitney 



Remarks. 



South Fork. 



Sialia arctica. Mountain Bluebird. 



The mountain bluebird is more or less common in the desert valleys 

 during the winter, and breeds in the higher ranges among the pines. 



At Granite Wells, in the Mohave Desert, a number were seen Jan- 

 uary 13-14. Unlike the western bluebird, this species was wary and 

 difficult of approach. It is not evident what causes this shyness, un- 

 less, perhaps, contact with the Indian, that ruthless and inveterate 

 enemy to animal life, who attacks every bird throughout the year, no 

 matter how small or in what condition, killing the mother of a de- 

 pendent brood with as much eagerness as a fattened buck in season. 



In Death Valley a flock was seen at Mesquite Well, January 21. It 

 was common at Bennett Wells and Saratoga Springs, and at Furnace 

 Creek, associated with titlarks and savanna sparrows in the alfalfa 

 fields, the last of January. Several were seen at Resting Springs, in 



