PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 389 



Central California, where the collections and observations upon 

 which this paper is based were made, is divided naturally into three 

 quite distinct parts: (1) the valleys near sea-level; (2) the chaparral belt, 

 familiarly known to Calif ornians as the "foot-hills"; and (3) the ever- 

 green coniferous forests above the chaparral belt. The periods during 

 which the collections were made are as follows : — At Stockton (valley 

 region), March 6 to June 9, 1878, and during the succeeding autumn. 

 At Marysville (valley region), from December 24, 1877, to March o, 1878, 

 and, incidentally, in June, 1878. At Murph y's (lower edge of pine region ), 

 from November 20, 187G, to May 3, 1877, November 22 to December 

 22, 1877, and August 27 to September 6, 1878. At the Calaveras 

 Big Trees (pine region), from May 3 to June 8, and from July 4 to 

 August 27, 1878. At Soda Springs. (upper part of pine region), from 

 August 25 to October G, 1877, about a week of this time being spent 

 at the Summit Meadotcs, near the summit of the Donner Lake Pass of 

 the Sierra Xevada. 



Stockton, San Joaquin Co. (lat. about 38°, alt, 30 ft,), is on the 

 eastern margin of the extensive tule swamp through which the San 

 Joaquin Eiver flows. Many of the birds peculiar to the inland waters 

 of the Pacific coast frequent this swamp in summer or winter, while 

 others, among which are some of the water birds of the neighboring 

 tule marshes, breed in the willows on the banks or natural levees of the 

 river. During the spring migration, birds are truly abundant in the 

 thickets by the river, and any one who has heard their songs at this time 

 would not accuse California birds of being deficient in melody. 



The valley east of Stockton is very level, and sparsely timbered, 

 though the principal water-courses are marked by a narrow strip of oaks 

 and willows. In ordinary winters, water is plentiful, but in summer only 

 the waters of the principal rivers reach the ocean. Owing to this 

 scarcity of water in the breeding season, birds are not numerous in this * 

 portion of the valley, while for this and other reasons few species are 

 abundant in Central California. 



The climate is genial and quite uniform, the heat of summer being 

 usually agreeably tempered by the sea breeze. The winters are mild 

 and the fields are green with short grass. 



Marysville, Yuba Co., is in latitude 39° 8', the altitude being about 

 150 feet above tide-level. It is situated at the junction of the Yuba 

 and Feather Rivers, surrounded by an extensive tract of level plains, 

 most of which are under cultivation. Over the uplands are scattered a 

 few oaks, both evergreen and deciduous, while in the river-bottoms are 

 dense thickets of poplars and willows, with an undergrowth of grape- 

 vines, briers, weeds, and grass. These thickets afford shelter for the 

 birds of the district, and in the breeding season nearly all the species 

 are congregated in or near them. 



The summers are warm and dry, and, as elsewhere in the interior of 

 California, the annual plants are either ripe or blighted by the first of 



