Sept., 1911 
FIKLI) XOTKS FROM SOUTII-ClvXT RAL CALIFORNIA 
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In tlie belt of low Itrush .surrounding the “.soda lake” in the center of the val- 
le>- there were a few California Sage Si^arrows breeding, and also a few Brewer 
S]xirrows. I found one nest of the former containing three newl_v hatched young 
on May 25. An adult and a full grown juvenal collected here, are unmistakably 
Amphiipiza u. cancsccus. 
Driving westward from Simmler to Santa Margarita we pa.s.sed quickly into a 
well wooded and well watered region, with a correspondingly abundant and varied 
bird life. At the San Juan River we entered groves of large oak trees, harboring 
such species as the California Woodpecker ( Me/auerpes J . bairdi), California Jay 
{ .Aphclocoiua califoniica) and Bluebird ^ Sialia nic.xicana occidciitaJis) . Near 
Poso at the head of the Salinas River, a few Song Sparrows KMcIospiza m. 
sautae-cnicis) appeared, seen thereafter in suitable places along the road, and, in 
some numbers, in the vicinity of Santa Margarita. The last Song Sparrow we had 
.seen had been at Bakersfield, where hccnnanui was abundant. As seen from the 
car window, suitable country for the species extends westward from that point, 
with some interruptions, as far as Buttonwillow. From Buttonwillow to Poso is a 
gap of about fifty miles, where, from tlie almost total absence of water, no song 
sparrows exist. 
At Santa Margarita we found more species of birds and a greater number of 
individuals b.\' far than at an>- other point visited b>' the expedition. The varied 
nature of the surrounding countrx — willow-bordered stream, brush-covered hills, 
and the rolling valley, thickly dotted with live oaks — produces a corres])ondingly 
varied avifauna, and our list of species observed was a long one, considering the 
short time spent at this point. May 30 to June 6. 
The Yellow-billed Magpie {. Pica uuttaUi) was abundant in the hills south of 
town, where adults and young were secured. In the San Joacpiin Valley this 
s]>ecies had been encountered at just one place during the three months of collect- 
ing: at a point .some ten miles nertheast of Los Banos, Merced County (the San 
Luis Ranch), where I saw four on March 21, and again on March 23. I was told 
that they were abundant in the immediate vicinity, but the country was flooded at 
the time, so as to be inacce.ssible. 
Other species^observed in the immediate vicinity of Santa Margarita, and at 
what would seem 'to be a low altitude (998 feet) for them during the breeding 
season, were the Blue-fronted Jay {('yanocifta stcllod frontalis) , Thurber Junco 
ijiuico ore^anus fhitrberi), and California Pigmy Owl ( (Haiicidiitm ^iioiua cali- 
fornictim) , specimens of the two former being collected. Additional birds seen at 
this point were Western Martin ( hesperia), Cliff Swallow, \'iolet- 
green Swallow ( ybr/or/z/fA? fka/assina tepida). Slender-billed Nuthatch (Sit/a 
caro/inensis acii/cata) , Hutton A'ireo ( \~i?'eo liii/toiii), Lute.scent Warbler ( Venni- 
vora cclata tntesrens) , Lawrence Goldfinch ^ .\stra^a/iuiis lazurcucci) , California 
Woodpecker, Nuttall Woodpecker K Dryobates natfalli), Willow Woodpecker 
{ Dryobates ptibcscens hi rati), Red-shafted Flicker {Colaptes c. collaris). Western 
Bluebird, and Cooper Hawk {Accipifer rooperi) . 
Most of these were seen under such circuimstances as indicated without a doubt 
that they were breeding; considering the time of year it is fair to assume that prac- 
tically all were. 
