58 



THE CONDOR 



Vol. XIX 



a desire to see only thoroughly reliable statements concerning our avifauna 

 given publicity, leads us to question two of Mr. Ray's nesting records, which 

 seem to us to be certainly erroneous. His records concerning the nesting of the 

 California Brown Towhee and the Western Kingbird are based on alleged dis- 

 coveries of Jesse Klapp. Both of these species, if they are to be found in the 

 county at all, are so rare that the finding of the nest of either would be re- 

 markable. There is evidently some mistake in the record, for Mr. Klapp in- 

 forms us that he has never found the nest of the California Brown Towhee and 

 does not know that he has even seen the bird in the park at any time. He re- 

 ported to us early in the summer that he had seen a kingbird feeding young 



and we went at once to the part 

 of the park where he said he 

 saw it. We did not find any 

 kingbirds but did find the 

 Olive-sided Flycatcher, and Mr. 

 Klapp thinks that the birds he 

 saw may have been this species 

 rather than the Western King- 

 bird. He says he has found no 

 nests of the kingbird. 



So far as we have been able 

 to discover the following list- 

 contains all the birds known to 

 be nesting in the county up to 

 the present time, together with 

 those whose nesting in the coun- 

 ty is probable. 



1. Podilymbus podiceps. Pied- 

 billed Grebe. Brood of seven young 

 seen at North Lake in Golden Gate 

 Park, June 11, 1916. Also breeds 

 at Lake Merced; young seen there 

 on several occasions. 



2. Lunda cirrhata. Tufted Puf- 

 fin. Breeds abundantly on the 

 Farallon Islands. 



3. Ptychoramphus aleuticus. 

 Cassin Auklet. The most abund- 

 ant of the species breeding on the 

 Farallon Islands. 



4. Cepphus columba. Pigeon 

 Guillemot. A nesting colony of 



half a dozen pairs was found on the cliffs south of the Golden Gate, July 2, 1916. At 

 that time most of the nests contained young. It also breeds on the Farallon Islands. 



5. Uria troille californica. California Murre. Breeds abundantly on the Faral- 

 lon Islands. 



6. Larus occidental is. Western Gull. Breeds on the Farallon Islands. 



7. Oceanodroma kaedingi. Kaeding Petrel. Breeds on the Farallon Islands 

 (Loomis, Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., vi, 1896, p. 359). 



8. Oceanodroma homochroa. Ashy Petrel. Breeds commonly on the Farallon 

 Islands. 



9. Phalacrocorax auritus albociliatus. Farallon Cormorant. Breeds on the Far- 

 allon Islands. Reported to be breeding on Seal Rocks by W. Leon Dawson. In answer 



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Fig. 22. Nest of Coot at edge of Lake 

 Merced, San Francisco County. 



