THE CONDOR. 
Bulletin of the Cooper Ornithological Club. 
A Bi-Monthlv Exponent of Californian Ornithology. 
Vol. 3. No. 4. Santa Clara, Cal., July-August, 1901. $ 1 .00 a Year 
Breeding of tiesperocichia naevia in California. 
WALTER K FISHER, STANFORD UNIVERSITY, CAL. 
T he writer spent the greater 
part of June 1899 at various points 
in the heavily forested redwood 
belt, from Humboldt Bay to Crescent 
City. This belt is comparatively narrow 
and occupies the low hills and valleys 
next to the coast. It is a region of 
dense, luxuriant vegetation, and is a 
humid division of the Canadian zone. 
It is not strange therefore that the 
varied thrush (Hesperocichia navia) 
should be found breeding here. On 
June II, 1899, wiiile collecting in the 
still dark redwood forest along Lindsay 
Creek (perhaps hve miles north of 
Vance, Mad River, Humboldt Co.) the 
writer was surprised suddenly by the 
outcries of two varied thrushes, which 
dashed at him from above, much after 
the fashion of hysterical robins. One 
of these birds ( ? No. 165248 U. S. Nat. 
Mus.) was promptly shot, but the male, 
whose bright colors rendered him con- 
spicuous in the somber forest, slipped 
away at once. There can be little 
doubt that the nest was close at hand, 
for the actions of the birds plainly be- 
tokened this. A more or less hastj^ 
search failed to reveal it, however, a 
fact not surprising at least tcf tho.se who 
are familiar with the region. 
Again on June 28 at the mouth of 
Redwood Creek, Humboldt Co. (in an 
air-line about 25 miles north of the 
previous locality) a male varied thrush 
was seen. This bird flew into a maple 
with its bill full of food, but the charac- 
teristic haste of a stage-driver rendered 
further investigation impossible. 
The presence of such a bird breeding 
in this region only tends to emphasize 
the distinct boreal nature of the belt. 
In this same locality one finds, Bonasa 
uvibcllus sabini, Colmnba fasciaia, 
Colaptes caper salitraiior, Contopus borealis, 
Perisoreiis obscurus, Melospiza melodia 
morphna, Anorthiira hieinalis pacijica, 
Pams riifescens, Hylocichla Hstidata, 
HylocicJila ao?ia/aschkee and even other 
boreal forms. 
