20 
THE CONDOR 
I VOL. V 
other birds were found mutilated in this wa}’. 
It was my desire to rear a number of nestlings for a small aviary, but of the scores of nests I 
had to select from, less than a dozen remained undisturbed until the young were hatched. Only 
nests in and about the orchard were molested, and here I have examined over a hundred shells; 
a few were broken but most of them had a small jagged hole in the side. Jays and shrikes never 
venture about the house. A bird must do the work; or if not, what? 'Brnkst Adams, Clipper 
Gap, Cat . 
Mossy Murres. — During the summer one often finds on Monterey Bay solitary murres 
(Cria califormca) which have not been able to join the hordes of their kind at the regular breed- 
ing grounds on the Farallone Islands or elsewhere. Specimens obtained often proved to be re- 
markably emaciated and so weak as to be unable to fly. Perhaps a failure to properly preen 
themselves accounts for a greenish or brownish green accretion which forms a zone across the 
breast and along the sides of the body just at and a little below the water-line. One bird in par- 
ticular which washed ashore near the Hopkins Laboratory last year had a broad oil green band 
across the breast. Microscopic examination showed the feathers of this region to be closely 
covered by attached masses of diatoms. I sent some of these feathers to Dr. George C. Whipple 
of New York, who identified the prevailing species of diatom as Fragilaria pacifica Gruni., with 
some Mcridion circularc, both of which are figured in Wolle’s “Diatomaceee of North America.” 
The same or similar plants may be found on any floating body such as driftwood, or on piling. 
The birds with this conspicuous discoloration across the white under surface are sometimes un- 
able to leave the water, the feathers having soaked through, and the whole bird become almost 
water-logged. These individuals may have become decrepit from old age, or accidentally disabled 
in some way. — JOSEPH Grinnei.i,. 
The Hummingbirds of Escondido and Vicinity. — Of all the hummingbirds of this 
locality the black-chinned {a/e.ratidri) is by far the most common. The first year I collected 
here the hummers were very common. A small citrus nursery not far from one place seemed to 
abound with them, nearly all being of the black-chinned variety. Here they build their nests in 
the voung trees, using willow, cotton, and the down from the young sycamore leaves for mater- 
ial. It would be hard to tell how many nests were built and occupied, but at least twenty or 
more were found containing eggs and young. But where have they gone ? 
In 1900 there was hardly a nest built in this nursery. My notes show that I observed but 
two nests of this species during that season, the first one being found May 2, containing one 
fresh egg, which I supposed hatched with the second egg in time. Two nice sets of Anna hum- 
mers were preserved during that season, being taken in May. The composition of the nests was 
(juite different from that of the black-chinned, consisting of withered leaves and feathers, 
all being covered with the usual amount of spider web. These were placed in oaks well up on 
the hill side. 
I found but four nests of the black-chinned and one of the Anna. I have failed to find this 
family of birds breeding here as early as recorded further north, my earliest record being that of 
the Anna just mentioned which was found on March 17, containing two young about one-half 
grown. I have noticed but one specimen of the rufous hummer here. It was a male late in the 
summer of 1900, so I have no reason to believe they breed here. To sum up I have recorded two 
species breeding, black-chinned and Anna together with one probably migratory, namely, the 
rufous. The Allen variety is found breeding about twenty miles further inland in the pine belt, 
a friend of mine having found a nest containing two eggs which he collected with one of the 
parent birds. — Np:lson CarpenTp:r, Escondido, Cal . 
Confirmation of a Record. — In my Sur River article in the last Condor (Vol. IV, p. 125), 
doubt was expressed as to the proper identity of certain species previously attributed to the re- 
gion in a published paper by Milton S. Ray. In the case of '' Animodramus savannarum per- 
pallidus" ^ — Ammodramtis savannanini hiniacnlatus) Mr. Ray has submitted for re-identifica- 
tion the specimen which he secured, thus substantiating his record. seacoast breeding station 
for this species seems exceptional. — J. Grinnkli,. 
Further Notes on the Pine Siskin -On September 2, I found two nests of Spinus pinits 
containing newly hatched young. As with the majority of birds in this country, it would be 
difficult to call tliese second or third sets, as nesting seems to be a continuous performance, and 
indulged in at any time during the season that a pair of birds happen to feel like it. — J. H. 
Bo\vLE.s, Tacoma, Hash. 
Query. — Can any of the readers of Thp: Condor give me any information as to best places to 
go on the Alaskan coast for the purpose of photographing colonies of seabirds? — E. R. Warren, 
Colorado .Springs, Col. 
