Sept., 1903 | 
THE CONDOR 
135 
In this way the flock advanced, some in the air all the time and ground was covered quite 
rapidly. A specimen secured measured 26 inches across the expanded wings and his crop con- 
tained 615 grains of barley by actual count. Others had eaten the large-sized acorns, growing in 
the mountains, the swallowing of which would seem an utter iinpossibilty. The oldest inhabi- 
tant of the Pass stated that only twice before in the last fifty years had the pigeons appeared in 
large numbers. — M. French Giem.\n, Banning, Cal. 
Correction of Doubful Records. — Believing the suggestion made by Mr. Joseph Grinnell 
in The Condor (Vol. IV, No. i) that all errors in identification are best promptly corrected I 
have gone carefully over all my published writings and append the following list of doubtful records . 
I. Dendroica occidentalis — Osprey, Vol. Ill, No. 4. Possibly D. nigrescens] no skin 
taken as the Guardian of Yosemite Valley prohibits the use of firearms. 2. Oroscoptes nion- 
tanus. 3. Gather pes niexicanus conspersus — Osprey, Vol. V, No. i. Out of the 43 species 
recorded from Sur River the two above species are the only ones I find to have been admitted on 
insufficient evidence. 4. Tachycineta thalassina — Osprey, Vol. V, No. 8. Skins taken the 
following year (1902) proved this to be Tachycineta hicolor. — Mii.Ton S. R.\y. 
Wasted Talent. — Upon laying open a cavity in an oak, in which some time previously I 
had discovered a pair of olivaceous fly-catchers {Mymrchns 1 . olivascens) to be building a nest, I 
found that the occupants had displayed a taste quite unusual in birds that nest in the dark and 
out of sight. 
The cavity was an ancient one, made originally by woodpeckers. It was much enlarged by 
the shrinking of the walls, which were seamed and furrowed by cut worms or other agents. The 
most conspicuous of these depressions were filled in with nest material, mostly feathers, and so 
well inserted, particularly some coarse feathers, that they were not very easily removed. It was 
as tho they had been tamped in. All the more conspicuous depressions up to the height of the 
opening, some five inches above rim of nest were treated thus. 
Was the work instigated by that instinct for beautifying their nests displayed by birds that 
build them where they can be seen by man? It scarcely added to the comfort of the nest, being 
quite above it, and it stopped the entrance of no light or air. 
After removing the material I regretted not having photographed the work. 
Afterward, in two other instances, I found the same thing done tho to a less marked degree, 
so, it seems, it is a characteristic of this interesting bird. 
The nest referred to contained four eggs of dimensions as follows: .70 by .55, .70 by. 53, .69 by 
56, .68 by .54 inches. 
The material of which the nest was composed was less than half hair, which forms almost the 
sole nest material used by its congener M. cinerascens and included ravelings of gunnysack, used 
by the naturalist as bait to discover the nest, cow hair, and rabbit fur, dried grass, bark-fibers 
and many feathers. — R. I). Le.sk, Tucson. Ariz. 
Minutes of Club Meetings 
NORTHERN DIVISION: Ji'EY. — -T he regular meeting of the Northern Division was held 
at the residence of the President, Mr. H. R. Taylor, in .Alameda, Cal., July ii, 1903, ten mem- 
bers and three visitors being present. Twelve candidates were elected to membership as follows: 
P. M. Silloway, Lewiston, Mont., Joseph Clemens, Monterey, Cal., Fred M. Dille, Longmont, 
Colo., Henry Stewart Gane, Santa Barbara, Cal., Mrs. Juliette C. Harding, Antioch, Cal., James 
S. Cooper, Hayward, Cal., Win. Frederick Bade, Berkeley, Cal., Miss Ida M. Eshenberg. Santa 
Barbara, Cal., Herman T. Bohlman, Portland, Ore., H. H. Sheldon, San Francisco, H. H. Bailey, 
San Francisco, J. S. Hunter, Watsonville, Cal. 
Three new names were proposed for membership: Miss Gertrude B. P'orrester, Round 
Mountain, Cal., Foster C. Wright, Los Angeles, Cal., Prof. F. Fk L. Beal, Washington, I). C. 
The resignation of Mr. Chas. R. Keyes from the office of Secretary of the Cooper Club was 
read and accepted by unanimous vote of the members present; a vote of thanks and expression of 
regrets was extended to Mr. Keyes by the Club and the Secretary pro tem instructed to corres- 
pond with Mr. Keyes to that effect. Mr. Kaeding was elected secretary of the Club for the un- 
expired term of Mr. Keyes, resigned. 
Mr. Kaeding spoke on the subject of vernacular names of birds vs. the Latin names, and 
made a motion that in all matter published in Thp: Condor, the vernacular name, when 
given, be followed by the Latin name of the bird. The motion was carried and the .Secretary pro 
tem was instructed to notify the editor of The Condor to that effect. 
Mr. Emerson then spoke at some length on, “The Bird-life on the Farallone Islands,” com- 
paring the aspect of the islands as they were in 1887 with the present conditions, and discussing 
the probable causes of the decrease in certain of the species and the increase in others. Mr. 
Kaeding made a few remarks on the impressions made by a first visit to these islands. Mr. 
Cohen spoke on the “Blackbirds of Alameda County,’’ illustrating his remarks with a series of 
specimens. Prof. F. E. L. Beal spoke briefly on the work being done by the ilep’t of Agriculture 
on the foods of birds and their relation to agriculture and horticulture. 
After a recess for refreshment and informal discussion, the meeting adjourned to meet in 
Palo Alto, September 12. — H. B, K.\eding, Secretary. 
