76 THE CONDOR Vol. XXII 
The Blue Goose as a Bird of California.—The first ascription of Chen caerulescens 
to California was made by Belding (Zoe, m1, 1892, p. 97). The evidence given by Belding 
was as follows. 
“Two of these geese were shot, one day, about February 1, of this year [1892], by | 
two hunters who were hunting together near Stockton. Mr. M. J. Shaw of the game 
market kept one of them on exhibition as long as he could, and then saved the head 
and neck, wings and legs. These fragments were all that I saw of the bird, and these I 
sent to Mr. Ridgway for identification. He said it was a true Chen caerulescens—a 
juvenile.” 
Belding then goes on to say that it had been his belief “for nearly ten years” that 
he had “occasionally seen the plumage which is attributed to the adult, a few of which” 
he “shot, besides some” “‘seen in market ads, 
Belding is quoted (Fisher, Condor, xx, 1918, p. 56) as having stated many years 
later, probably subsequent to 1910, that he had “often hunted geese on Butte Creek and 
many times tried to get the Blue Goose (caerulescens) but never succeeded so far as to 
be satisfied with the result. Of two that” he “found in the Stockton market”, he “sent 
wings and feet to Mr. Ridgway, who identified the fragments as of caerulescens.” This 
statement, it will be seen, corroborates in the main the earlier one. 
Cooke (U. S. Biol. Survey bull. 26, 1906, p. 68) gave Belding’s Stockton record full 
recognition, and considered it “apparently the only record west of the Rocky Moun- 
tains.” Several other authorities at about the same time likewise took this record at 
face value. 
But Swarth (Condor, xv, 1913, p. 48) was inclined to consider the evidence of the 
occurrence of the Blue Goose in California ‘‘rather weak’’ and goes on to point out, on 
the basis of a recent case in point, how the young of the Lesser Snow Goose might be 
misidentified as of the Blue Goose. Grinnell (Pac. Coast Avif. no. 11, 1915, p. 177) fol- 
lows Swarth, and he places the Blue Goose as a bird of California in his “hypothetical 
list” on the ground that Belding’s “record seems open to question, more particularly be- 
cause of absence of confirmation’. And Grinnell, Bryant and Storer (Game Birds Calif., 
1918, p. 211) dispose of the case rather summarily under “Lesser Snow Goose’’. 
Now comes fresh evidence, which seems to provide the needed “confirmation”: 
On December 15, 1910, a hunter by the name of Bud Watson killed a “‘pinto” goose on 
the King Ranch, eight miles west of Gridley, Butte County. The bird passed into the 
possession of Dr. Lemuel P. Adams, of Oakland, and was mounted for him by W. H. Hall, 
a taxidermist of that city. It remained in the possession of Dr. Adams until December, 
1919, when it was presented by him to the Oakland Public Museum. The Director of that 
Museum, Mr. John Rowley, notified an officer of the California Museum of Vertebrate 
Zoology of this important acquisition, suggesting that his identificatien of the bird as a 
Blue Goose might need verification. Accordingly, on January 13, 1920, J. Eugene Law and 
J. Grinnell, carrying with them an Hastern-taken specimen of Chen caerulescens, visited 
the Oakland Public Museum, and satisfied themselves of the correctness of the determi- . 
nation as originally made by Mr. Rowley. The two specimens proved identical in all 
essential points. Through the courtesy of Mr. Rowley, first published record is now 
made of this bird, which is number 10/1446 in the collection of the Oakland Public Mu- 
seum, where it is open to examination at any time. The present writer has further 
communicated with Dr. Adams, who verifies the details of capture as just given. 
The upshot of the matter is, then, that the Blue Goose has occurred in California. 
The probabilities now are strong that Ridgway’s identification of Belding’s “fragments” 
was correct, and further, that the latter’s impressions of having observed the species in 
California on more than one occasion are worthy of being taken into account. 
The status of the Blue Goose in California seems, therefore, to be as follows: Rare 
winter visitant to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley. Recorded definitely twice, by 
Belding (loc. cit.) from the vicinity of Stockton, about February 1, 1892; and by Grin-— 
nell (present instance) from vicinity of Gridley, Butte County, December 15, 1910.—J. 
GRINNELL, California Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Berkeley, January 15, 1920. 
Black and White Warbler at Carpinteria, California.—I wish to report the occur- 
rence at Carpinteria, on January 9, 1920, of the Black and White Warbler (Mniotilta 
