Sept., 1921 FROM FIELD AND STUDY 167 
(Tyrannus vociferans), a species apparently hitherto undetected in the State. In the 
course of his work Mr. Hanna camped for a few days in the Bull Mountains, about i6 
miles to the southward of Roundup, Musselshell County. The principal forest covering 
of these hills consists of groves of yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa), which cover much of 
the higher ground and extend northward to the valley of the Musselshell. Among these 
pines the birds were found in small groups—three individuals on August 5, two on Aug- 
ust 6, and four on August 7. They flew from one clump of pines to another, stopping 
only on the tallest trees, and there only for a short time. Three specimens were col- 
lected—two adult males on August 5, and a young bird on August 6. The last was still 
in juvenal plumage, and manifestly so recently from the nest as to make it practically 
eertain that it was raised in the vicinity. These specimens are now in the Biologicat 
Survey collection—Epwarp A. PreBLe, Washington, D. C., July 5, 1921. 
A New Bird for Larimer County, Colorado.—About May 10, 1921, a Mexican boy 
captured alive a barn owl (Aluco pratincola) near Laporte, five miles west of Fort Col- 
lins. This owl is now in a cage in a local garage.—W. L. BuRNeETT, State Agricultural 
College, Fort Collins, Colorado, June 10, 1921. 
Flocking Habits of the California Valley Quail.—The following observations were 
made between December 1, 1919, and May 1, 1920, on a farm which is located near Ripon, 
California, and about a mile from the Stanislaus River. The farm consists mainly of 
orchard, the trees being of three varieties, almond, cherries and peaches. A large brush 
pile was located at one edge of the orchard, about thirty yards from the dwelling house. 
The first time I noticed the particular flock of Valley Quail (Lophortyx californicus vai- 
licola) in question was one morning about ten o'clock when I saw twenty-three birds 
making their way through the orchard to this brush pile. I found that this action was 
of regular occurrence with the flock and each morning, some time between the hours of 
nine and eleven, the flock gradually wended its way towards this protection. My first 
thought was that in addition to their using it as a place of refuge during the day, the 
birds roosted in the brush pile at night. 
But upon further observation I found that the birds, instead of roosting in the 
brush pile, merely collected there during the day time for shelter when not searching 
for focd. The “come-right-here” call was often sounded by one member of the flock 
which was posted some distance above ground for wide observation, though usually hid- 
den in the brush. If a person approached, the bird would utter a call of alarm and dis- 
appear into the brush. The brush pile was of considerable size and though I tried to 
frighten the birds by beating the brush with sticks they merely retreated farther into 
the middle for protection. 
Later observations showed that the birds roosted in some eucalyptus trees about 
two hundred yards from the brush pile. Each evening at dusk the flock came through 
the orchard toward the eucalyptus trees usually from a given direction along the bank 
oi an irrigation ditch. As these trees were located in the stable yard the birds usually 
fed near the barn for some ten or fifteen minutes before flying to their roosting place. 
It was interesting to note that, usually, only one bird was in flight to the trees at a 
time, though once stimulated to flight by the leader, the whole flock was lost among 
the leaves in a remarkably short time. If a part of the flock was disturbed after the 
flight had begun, the remainder, instead of flying straight to roost, would fly out into 
the orchard for a time. This was probably a protective measure to lead one off the trail. 
At dawn the flock would fly from the trees and proceed into the orchard for food. 
i wondered if the birds had a definite route of travel, but was unable to follow this out 
if such were the case. They traversed different parts of the orchard on different days. 
After foraging in the orchard and adjoining fields they would return to the brush pile 
for the middle part of the day. The direction from which they came to the brush pile 
varied on different days. They again returned to the orchard for a feeding trip in the 
afternoon after which they proceeded to the gum trees to roost. 
Their modes of progress while in the field were interesting. At times I was led 
to think that a certain member of the flock was always followed as leader, while at 
other times there seemed to be no definite order, the one taking the lead which did not 
lag behind to feed. The flock, however, usually presented a definite ““V” shape, the anex 
