156 THE CONDOR Vol. XIX 



About a pond near the lake a variety of water birds were gathered. Two 

 Phalaropes were swimming around in the pond, a Willet flew up with a sudden 

 flash of white, a Marbled Godwit on the shore stood on one leg with its bill rest- 

 ing in its wing feathers, an Anthony Green Heron rose from the low juncus 

 border showing its long bill and crest, a company of White-faced Glossy Ibises 

 were walking around in the marsh grass, and circling low over the water was 

 a small band of Greater Yellowlegs, while standing out by itself was a bird on 

 which we focused our glasses eagerly, a large white-bodied Avocet, its long 

 bill recurved at the tip, a most distinguished looking bird which I longed to 

 stop and study. 



As the water of the San Jacinto River is now used for irrigation, the lake 

 is only a rain water lake, but at our visit it was about a mile long, a typical 

 tule lake, with great stretches of cool-looking dark green tules ten feet high, 

 showing a line of brown heads at the top. At our approach a large flock of 

 Ibises flew from the green walls and from the dotted surface of the lake the 

 nearer Coots and Gadwells went spattering and splashing off into the shelter- 

 ing green alleys to begin their talk again when all was quiet. Near the edge 

 of the lake a young Night Heron stood up to its body in water as if half asleep. 

 Three Rails were seen in the tules walking jauntily about with short tails up. 

 Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds were also flying about among their 

 nests. 



Some of the Ibises were out in the marsh grass possibly catching the small 

 frogs that were hopping around, and one that was standing alone in the short 

 tules looking preoccupied, let us come quite near. Another flew with his quank 

 so close we could see the maroon between his wings. In walking about, as their 

 long legs bent under them they would busily give a dab here and there, bill 

 and legs making a silhouette of three long lines in motion. 



A month later we repassed the lake, on our way scaring up Black-tailed 

 Gnatcatchers and Baird Wrens from the desert brush and willows, and seeing 

 a Bell Sparrow, a family of Rock Wrens that flew back to their stony hillside, 

 and a Say Phoebe that measured off the fence posts ahead of us. The pond on 

 which there had been so many waders at our previous visit was now a dry, pale 

 green hollow. The main lake was dotted over with birds but we had no time 

 to stop for we were then in search of the kangaroo rats whose tracks and trails 

 were everywhere in the valley. As we passed the lake, however, we saw, on 

 the bent tops of some lodged tules, a large flock of Ibises that rose and circled 

 around to another part of the lake. 



Ibises and a much greater number of water birds had been found previ- 

 ously at Lake Elsinore, an alkaline lake lying between the Santa Ana Moun- 

 tains and the Gavilan Hills and surrounded by orange, lemon, and olive or- 

 chards. While the lake is now shrinking because its feeders are used for irri- 

 gation, old beach lines along the foothills tell of its former magnitude. In 

 curves along the shore piles of foam attested the alkaline character of the 

 water and a wide margin of the beach was covered with a layer of algae, 

 green at the edge of the water, red on the wet shore, and crusted white over the 

 dry sand. Multitudes of the flies characteristic of alkaline lakes, from whose 

 larvae the Indians make koochabee were found along the shore and the larvae 

 were probably distributed over the algae, as in walking over the crisp crust 

 we flushed Meadowlarks, Blackbirds, and flocks of Horned Larks, the Larks 

 flying off with their plaintive cry. 



