Nov., 1912 
COMMUNICATIOxNS 
227 
Agelahis phoeniceus. In my account of this 
bird I gave after the description some account 
of the various prevailing views of authori- 
ties on the difficult question of the subspe- 
cies of Red-winged Blackbirds in the state. 
Loxia curvirostra. 1 was mucli struck by 
the great size of the bill of the pair of Cross- 
bills obtained by Aiken in El Paso Count}'. 
I felt that they must be referred to the larger 
form known as L. c. stricklandi. I see no 
reason why in the case of a great wanderer 
like the Crossbill the Mexican form should not 
stray as far north as Colorado along the 
Rocky Mountains. 
Astragalinus psaltria. 1 have not come 
across any “conclusive proof” that the three 
forms of this goldfinch are color phases due 
to age. In the typical form generally found 
throughout Colorado the back is olive green, 
in the Mexican form the back is black; but 
1 see no evidence that the Colorado subspe- 
cies eventually with age becomes black. I 
think the occasional occurrence of the more 
southern Mexican form in Colorado is quite 
conceivable. 
Protoiwtaria citrea. 1 understood from Mr. 
Felger that he was quite satisfied that this 
species had occurred in Colorado. 
Of the fifteen birds included by Mr. Cooke 
in his list, but omitted by me, eleven are men- 
tioned and discussed in the text, though not 
admitted to the formal list ; but 1 must plead 
guilty to omitting Phalaropus fiilicariiis, while 
it would perhaps have been more logical to 
admit the Pheasant if the English Sparrow 
is included. 
Finally Mr. Cooke mentions a number of 
birds which I have excluded from my list 
of breeding birds. In drawing up my list I 
purposely did not include birds which have 
only been recorded from the state on one or 
two occasions ; these were placed in the list 
of casuals. I have not kept birds in the 
breeding list, although seen several times in 
summer, unless very definite evidence of 
breeding is forthcoming. 
Yours, etc., 
W. L. ScL.tTEK. 
London; September 6, igi2. 
introduced birds of new ZEALAND 
Editor The Condor : 
Today I received ja copy of The Condor, 
which you were kind enough to send me, and 
I read with deep interest your remarks on 
the Chaffinch at Monterey. I quite agree 
with your note of warning in regard to this 
English bird. From the very unfortunate 
experiences we have had in New Zealand, I 
can say without hesitation that people in 
your country ought to exercise the utmost 
care in regard to English birds that are 
brought in. 
I am an ardent bird-lover — I love them all, 
even those with the most objectionable char- 
acters — but I must confess that many of the 
English “interlopers,” to use your own word, 
have proved disastrous failures in this country. 
This is the case with some birds which 
were brought here purely in a spirit of sen- 
timent, notably the skylark, the song-thrush, 
and the black-bird. They are great pests. We 
now have a law here prohibiting the impor- 
tation of any foreign birds w'ithout the sanc- 
tion of a Minister of the Crown. The latest 
attempt in this direction is the Eittle Grey 
Owl (Athene noctna), which was brought 
liere to deal with the sparrow and other small 
birds previously introduced, and which, I am 
afraid, will have a bad effect on our interest- 
ing native avifauna, which, late in the day, 
we are making a frantic effort to preserve. 
Yours truly, 
Jas. Drummond. 
Christchurch, N. Z.; July 17, igi2. 
THE CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATED SOCI- 
ETIES FOR THE CONSERVATION 
OF WILD life. 
The following is a copy of a letter recently 
sent out to the officials of eleven organiza- 
tions in the State of California; 
“Dear Sir: 
"It is urgent that vigorous action be taken 
immediately if it is desired to save the rem- 
nant of wild life yet remaining in the State 
of California. jMany native species are suf- 
fering a rapid decrease in numbers through 
several causes, while the ranks of the Army 
of Destruction receive constant augmenta- 
tion year by year. 
“The Committee on Conservation of Wild 
Life of the Cooper Ornithological Club 
(Northern Division) is convinced that the 
formation of a centralized organization would 
be beneficial to the cause of saving this natu- 
ral resource, and hereby asks your society to 
consider the advisability of the formation of 
such an association. We therefore request 
answers to the following questions : 
“(1) Do you favor an intelligent coiiser- 
vasion policy with regard to wild life, that 
the best interests of the farmer, sportsman, 
nature-lover, and citizen be guarded? 
“(2) If so, would your organization be 
able and willing to be represented at a meet- 
ing to be held soon in this vicinity (San 
Francisco Bay region) to consider the most 
effective method of securing enlightened legis- 
lation along this line? 
“Inclosed find list of societies with whom 
we are communicating as well as a tenta- 
tive constitution for the associated societies. 
