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Mar., 1920 FROM FIELD AND STUDY 
The Varied Thrush in Wyoming.—Mr. L. R. A. Condit, a well-known rancher of 
Barnum, Wyoming, has presented to the University of Colorado Museum an immature 
male Varied Thrush (Jxoreus nacvius or subspecies meruloides) taken at his ranch on 
Beaver Creek, near Barnum, at the foot of the Big Horn Mountains. [| find no published 
record of this species for the state of Wyoming. Mr. Condit informs me that there were 
about twenty-five or thirty of the birds, of both sexes, presumably, from his account, 
all immature, and they remained about the ranch for over a week after November 9, 
1919. when the specimen at hand was taken. This bird of the northwest has long been 
known as an occasional straggler into distant territory, seemingly having no regard at 
all for the artificial lines established by men to separate political subdivisions of the 
earth’s surface. There is one record of a mature male for Boulder County, Colorado, and 
it has been recorded from Kansas, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, etc. Whether 
this is the true naevius or meruloides I should not dare say with the one specimen before 
me. The latter is said to nest in Montana and eastern Oregon. With these facts in mind, 
it is not surprising to find the birds in Wyoming, but its discovery there by Mr. Condit 
is one of many illustrations of additions to scientific knowledge due to the work and 
interest of observing laymen.—JUNIUS HENbDERSON, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo- 
rado, December 27, 1919. 
The Wood Ibis as a Winter Visitant to California——The Wood Ibis (Mycteria am- 
ericana) has been noted in southern California only during the summer, so it seems 
desirable to put on record the presence of at least one small flock, numbering eleven 
individuals, in the vicinity of Calexico, Imperial County, during the last two days of 
November, 1919. I saw these birds twice (once close enough to make identification ab- 
solute) while they were flying over, and the manager of my ranch stated that he had 
seen the flock every few days during the past six weeks. As there had been considerable 
cold weather with some ice previous to this date, it is safe to presume that the birds 
were not merely laggards from the regular summer invasion of the species of the Colo- 
rado Valley. This flock was reported to have spent considerable time in the alfalfa 
fields, which were not being irrigated because of recent rains. I regard this information 
as coming from a reliable source, and although this species is not known to feed on 
grasshoppers, nor indeed on anything which they do not secure from the water, what 
else could they be doing in an alfalfa field? It is not many years since this valley was 
put under cultivation, and it has had a very marked effect in modifying the bird popu- 
lation. Although the winter nights are chilly, the days are decidedly warm, and it would 
not surprise me if the Wood Ibis, as well as other species that have heretofore been con- 
sidered warm weather visitants, gradually decide to resort to this section throughout 
the year.—A. B. Howe tu, Berkeley, California, January 4, 1920. 
Gulls Following a Train.—It will be recalled that some years ago there appeared 
in THE Conpor an article entitled “Goonies of the Desert” (Grinnell, Conpor, x, 1908, 
p. 92), in which the actions of Ravens following a train were compared to those of sea- 
birds in the wake of a steamer. The present writer recently was reminded of this com- 
parison by circumstances comparable to, but still different from, either of those just 
mentioned. The Union Pacific Railroad for some years past has crossed Great Salt Lake 
on what is known as the “Ogden cut-off’, partly a trestle and partly a fill, on which the 
track practically bisects the lake. On the afternoon of November 6, 1919, while I was 
sitting on the observation platform of the train as it started on this crossing, a number 
of gulls were seen gathering from all sides. They fell behind in just such a way as we 
are used to seeing them trail after the ferry boats crossing San Francisco Bay, and re- 
mained in attendance until the lake was crossed, a matter of some hours. The train 
travelled slowly and the birds had no difficulty in keeping abreast of it. Occasionally 
one lit on a telegraph pole for a few moments and then overtook us once more. None 
was seen to garner any edibles thrown overboard, but presumably they do reap a har- 
vest of this sort at times. It was an odd combination—the attendance of these maritime 
birds upon this conveyance of the dry land.—H. S. Swarru, Museum of Vertebrate Zoolo- 
gy, Berkeley, California, February 7, 1920. 
