July, 1903 | 
THE CONDOR 
99 
barbules left to give a decided color to the bird. One juvenile Red-shafted flicker 
from there, a fully grown bird, taken on May 30, distinctly shows this abrasion, 
though it had not progressed sufficiently to greatly dull the fresh coloration of the 
feathers. On the other hand the Santa Inez River valley is greatly protected 
from strong winds, and the specimens from there showed no more abrasion than is 
normal in a dry climate. 
The lutescent warblers {^Helmhithophila celata lutescens) taken near the town, on 
their first arrival even, had all their feathers so much worn at the ends as to destroy 
the tone of coloration, and evidently showed that their northward trip had been a 
continual bucking against head winds. All the specimens collected of this species 
were taken between April 25 and May 2, after which date none seemed to have 
remained, even in spots apparently well adapted to them for breeding grounds. 
I had hoped to secure a fine series of Arizona hooded oriole (^Icterus cucullatus 
tielsoni) but these birds confined themselves entirely to the gardens in the town, 
where their nests were frequently in evidence under the overhanging leaves of 
bananas and palms, with telltale shreds of fibre hanging down sometimes for a foot 
or so. Not a single specimen was met with outside the town limits. 
The rufus-crowned sparrow {Aimophila ruficeps) was discovered breeding in 
the vicinity of the town, and in fact one specimen was secured within a couple 
of hundred yards of the old mission. The first one of this species was captured on 
May 27, its mate escaping from me. One or two more were seen at different dates 
and two juveniles taken near where the first one was secured, on June 13, as well 
as the one near the mission, prove that this species breeds here, though I believe 
there is no previous record from this county. 
Anna hummingbirds were in evidence everywhere, and very numerous, but 
while many unidentified females of the smaller varieties of hummingbirds were 
met with, the sterner sex of the Allen, black-chinned, and Costa were seldom seen 
and but few specimens of these taken, though they were probably feasting among 
the gardens of the town while their domestic partners were attending to house- 
hold duties. 
Bullock orioles, ash-throated flycatchers and Arkansas kingbirds were very 
numerous upon their first arrival, about the middle of April, but these scattered 
around the country to their favorite breeding grounds and soon became scarce in 
the outskirts of the town. 
Parkman wrens (^Troglodytes aedori parkmani') were more numerous in this lo- 
cality than in any other place that I have ever visited. In fact they seemed to be 
everywhere, while Vigors wrens, though frequently heard, were very difficult to 
secure. It appeared to be a foregone conclusion that when a Vigors was heard 
singing in a live-oak, and what seemed to be the songster was shot at, a Parkman 
wren was sure to fall, while the former dodged off to the next tree to continue his 
song. To an accustomed ear the respective songs are so different as to be unmis- 
takable, and yet this result occurred again and again so that but few Vigors wrens 
were secured, the fact being that they were very wary while the other wren was 
not at all so, and that the Vigors would stop singing the moment it caught sight of 
a person while there was sure to be a Parkmans moving around within a few feet 
of the spot where the singing ceased. 
The date of nesting of the white-throated swift {Aeronautes melanoleucus) in 
this vicinity was definitely ascertained by the taking of a female, on May 19, con- 
taining an egg almost ready to be laid, with appearances indicating that one or 
more had already been deposited in the nest. The rocky mountain range back of 
