taAY,i&3.] BIRDS OF THE DEATH VALLEY EXPEDITION. 39 



in Yegas Valley and about the Charleston Mountains, Nevada, March 

 3-16, and Dr. Merriam saw three among the tree yuccas on the east 

 side of Pahrump Valley, April 29, and one on the Charleston Mountains 

 the following day. One was seen in the Juniper Mountains May 19$ 

 and another at Oasis Valley the 1st of June. In California Dr. Mer- 

 riam observed, a pair in Owens Valley, June 10-19, and he and Mr. 

 Palmer saw one near Alamo ranch, in the Sierra Liebre, June 30. 

 According to the Indians, this eagle breeds rarely in the higher por- 

 tions of the Grapevine, Panam in t, Inyo, and White mountains. 



In the main Sierra Nevada one was seen on the east slope of Walker 

 Pass, July 2; a pair on the South Fork of the Kern River, July 3-11; 

 one near Little Cottonwood Creek, August 23; a number in Whitney 

 Meadows; and several at and above timber line near Mineral King, 

 September 8-11. At the latter place they probably fed on woodchucks 

 (Arctomys) and grouse (Dendraga/pus). 



Haliaeetus leucocephalus. Bald Eagle. 



Two adult bald eagles were seen sitting on a dead mesquite at Ash 

 Meadows, Nevada, about the middle of March. They were the only 

 ones noted during the season. 



Falco mexicanus. Prairie Falcon. 



Prairie falcons were seen in a number of localities throughout the 

 desert regions as well as among the mountain ranges of southern Cali- 

 fornia and Nevada. In Death Valley, between Bennett Wells and 

 Furnace Creek, one was seen January 22, and at the latter place one 

 was shot from its per ch on a ha ystack where it sat watching a flock 

 of Gainbel's quail, January 27, and another was seen in summer on 

 June 20. One was secured at Besting Springs in the Amargosa Desert, 

 February 12, and another at Ash Meadows, Nevada, March 16. At 

 the latter place, where ducks were abundant, this falcon was seen on 

 several occasions to chase single birds, which escaped by dropping in 

 the water among the tules. Mr. Nelson saw a number in Pahrump 

 and Vegas valleys, Nevada, and at the Bend of the Colorado, and one was 

 seen on a cliff in Vegas Wash eating a duck. In the Panamint Moun- 

 tains one was shot from the top of a cut bank at the mouth of Johnson 

 Canon, March 26; others were seen in Emigrant Canon, April 14-15, 

 and in the higher mountains near Telescope Peak, April 17-19. Mr. 

 Nelson found it sparingly about the bases of both the Panamint and 

 Grapevine ranges, where old nests were found on the cliffs. In Nevada 

 Dr. Merriam saw it on Mount Magruder, June 8; in Pahranagat Valley, 

 May 22-26 (breeding in both the Pahranagat and Hyko mountains), 

 and in the Virgin Valley near Bunkerville, May 8. In the Lower 

 Santa Clara Valley, Utah, he saw a pair several times about the cliffs 

 a short distance from the village of St. George, May 11-15. 



In Panamint Valley it was seen at Hot Springs April 20, and in the 

 lower end of the valley, January 12. A female was seen in the Coso 



