36 University of California Publications in Geology [Vol. 8 



not be expected to breed in a climate still more tropical. On the other 

 hand we have Allen's hypothesis that the migratory instinct in birds 

 was developed in Pleistocene time. Hence it may not yet have reached 

 the degree notable in the teal of today. In the presence of so im- 

 portant a series of questions, it seems best to say no more than that 

 the immature specimen is more closely like Nettion than like other 

 forms at hand, but the characters are not sufficiently developed or 

 preserved to warrant its unreserved assignment to this species. 



QUERQUEDULA CYANOPTERA (Vieillot) 

 A tibiotarsus and a coracoid both nearly complete are assigned to 

 this species. The specimens show nearly the same proportions as the 

 female skeleton at hand except for a noticeable degree of stoutness 

 not seen in the Recent female. Sex difference would account for the 

 slight variation probably. The assignment is, however, made 

 tentatively. 



OIDEMIA PEESPICILLATA (Linnaeus) 

 This duck is perhaps the most abundant anserine along the beach 

 of southern California today. It is represented in the Pleistocene 

 collection by a perfect humerus and the distal end of a coracoid. A 

 badly worn specimen of the humerus poorly preserved is tentatively 

 assigned to the species. 



ANSER ALBIFRONS (Scopoli) 

 Represented by a single specimen, the distal end of a tibiotarsus 

 which agrees in every detail with the corresponding part of a male 

 specimen purchased in the markets of Los Angeles and assigned to 

 the subspecies gambeli. 



BRANTA CANADENSIS (Linnaeus) 

 Represented by the distal end of a humerus. 



LOPHORTYX CALIFORNICA (Shaw) 

 An almost perfect coracoid represents this species beyond question, 

 while the proximal fragment of a tibiotarsus and the distal fragment 

 of a humerus are tentatively assigned to the same category. This is 

 perhaps the most startling occurrence among the birds in this sup- 

 posedly marine deposit. 



