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THE CONDOR Vo1 - xx 



week of May or first part of June. Since this species is known to construct a new nest, 

 if deprived of its first eggs, the present nest is doubtless a case of that kind. My notes 

 show that Swainson Hawks were seen at this place on May 13, one of them soaring 

 high above the river with nesting material in its talons.— A. D. Du Bois, Button, Mon- 

 tana, August 12, 1918. 



Notes from Southern California.— Franklin Gull {Larus franklini). A fourth rec- 

 ord of this bird comes from the same locality as the three specimens taken by Mr. J. E. 

 Law (Condoe, xvn, 1915, p. 96). This gull was taken by myself on October 29, 1917, 

 from a great flock of Bonaparte, Western, California, Ring-bill and Herring gulls, feeding 

 ou the sewage where it discharges into the ocean at Hyperion, Los Angeles County. In 

 plumage it is the same as the birds taken by Mr. Law, an immature, probably of the year. 

 European Widgeon (Mareca penelope). On December 12, 1917, a clerk in one of 

 the large public markets of Los Angeles called my attention to a pair of fine "Red-heads" 

 exposed for sale along with numerous other ducks of various species on his counter. A 

 quick sale followed, the birds proving to be of the above species. Both were in perfect 

 adult plumage, marred only by absence of under tail-coverts, which had been stripped off 

 in removing the entrails. The proprietor stated they had been shipped to him from 

 Brawiey, Imperial County. 



Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius). The passing of famed Nigger Slough, as 

 a result of drainage work begun in 1916, removes the last considerable area of breeding- 

 ground for fresh-water birds in southern California. The reduction of formerly extens- 

 ive deep-water areas to wide stretches of oozy mud, partly covered by a thin sheet of 

 water, appears to have coincided with an unusual visitation of Red Phalaropes to this 

 locality. This species was first noted on the beach southwest of Los Angeles, May 23, 

 1918, where several birds were taken and quite a number seen, at very close range, feed- 

 ing about the cast-up kelp. On the 27th, several were noted at Nigger Slough, in com- 

 pany with thousands of the Northern Phalarope. Frequent inspection of the slough dur- 

 ing the following week showed considerable numbers of the Red species, in every stage of 

 plumage from the gray winter to full breeding garb, but a rapid decrease of the North 

 em. Both were practically gone on June 8. 



Birds taken on the beach were greatly emaciated, while those taken at the slough 

 were generally in good flesh, some of them fat, and all approaching breeding condition — 

 L. E. Wyman, Museum of History, Science and Art, Los Angeles, California, June 15, 1918. 



When the Thrushes Cease from Singing. — In the California springtime we hear 

 the sweet-toned ringing of the thrushes' song, that of the Russet-backed Thrush (Hylo- 

 cichla ustulata ustulata) for the most part, and of other varieties as well, in some re- 

 stricted parts. We instinctively note the first of these seasonal outbursts of joy, but how 

 many of us take note of when they cease? 



At first adding to our enjoyment of blossoming nature we soon become accus- 

 tomed to the amorous outpourings of our avian friends and calmly take them for granted 

 as a pleasing part of the fresh spring atmosphere, so that when they cease it takes us 

 some time to awaken to the fact. Many times have I resolved to keep careful watch for 

 the moment when these ringing notes would no longer be heard, and yet the season went 

 by with this unnoticed. 



This summer, however, I have had exceptional opportunity to take note of what 

 happened as regards two species of thrushes. Going to the Bohemian Grove, on the Rus- 

 sian River about ten miles above its mouth, in Sonoma County, California, upon July 6 

 (1918), I found that in the darker and less disturbed part of the grove— where my own 

 camp is situated — the Monterey Hermit Thrush (Hylocichla guttata slevini) was quite 

 abundant, frequenting the lowest hillsides and occasionally appearing on the floor of the 

 canyon, and in full song. During the many previous years of my camping there, but an 

 occasional note had been heard, while no individual had been actually identified. This 

 difference in habits was probably due to the extreme dryness of the nearly rainless 

 winter and spring, with water very scarce on the higher levels around the grove. 



The attendance in Bohemia was very light this year on account of so many mem- 

 bers of the club being either directly or indirectly connected with war service, and 

 human neighbors seldom appeared; so that passing most of the time quietly in my camp 

 offered unusual opportunity to note the bird-life round about. There were certainly more 

 birds of various sorts in the grove than ever noted before. 



