58 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XVII 
Vireosylva olivacea. While skinning birds at home on the screen porch, October 6, 
1914, I heard a strange bird call in a fruit tree outside. Picking up my gun I soon had 
the specimen in hand. It was an adult male Red-eyed Vireo. 
The identification of these specimens was made by Mr. J. Grinnell. — Laurence M. 
Huey, San Diego, California. 
Return of Winter Birds to the Same Locality. — For two winters I have been feeding 
birds about our canyon home. During the winter of 1912-13 I scattered the food on the 
hill-slope in front of our dining-room window, and was rewarded by the daily appearance 
of Song Sparrows, Fox Sparrows, the two Towhees, Golden-crowned Sparrows, Thrash- 
ers and Wren-tits. 
The next winter, 1913-14, for photographic purposes I began putting the food on the 
railing of the narrow unroofed porch, which extends under the window. It took some 
time to induce all the different varieties to come to this new table, which was set for 
them immediately in front of a large plate-glass window and at a distance of only three 
feet. But one by one they overcame their shyness, and came even when several observ- 
ers stood just inside the window. 
On the morning of September 27, 1914, a Golden-crowned Sparrow made his first fall 
appearance on the feeding-ground, and a few minutes later he flew up on to the railing 
in search of food. At seven o’clock on the morning of October 4, 1914, I saw a Fox Spar- 
row on the feeding-ground. At nine o’clock he, too, was feeding on the railing. He may 
very likely have been there earlier, but I had not caught him at it. 
It would seem to me quite unreasonable to suppose that these birds were not the 
same birds that had been trained to pose for photographs on my railing during the pre- 
vious winter. — Mrs. Amelia S. Allex, Berkeley , California. 
Note on the Feeding Habits of the Blue-fronted Jay. — In July. 1914, I spent a few 
days with friends in the Yosemite Valley. On July 12 we made a trip to Sierra Point, 
then came down to “The Happy Isles”, in the Merced River below Vernal Falls, where 
we spent some time. While eating luncheon a Blue-fronted Jay ( Cyanocitta stelleri 
frontalis) came near us, evidently in quest of food. A good-sized piece of cracker thrown 
to it was seized at once. With the cracker in its beak the bird ascended from limb to 
limb nearly to the top of a tall tree near by, then, flying across the river, disappeared in 
the heavy forest on the other side. In a few moments it returned. Another small bit 
of cracker was thrown to it which it ate at once. 
When still another small piece of cracker was thrown on the ground not fifteen feet 
from where we sat eating our luncheon, the bird picked it up and, flying to a large cedar 
tree near by, alighted upon the trunk about five feet from the ground. Then we saw the 
bird put the cracker in a crack in the bark, driving it in securely by tapping it vigor- 
ously with its bill. And then came the most interesting and unexpected act of the per- 
formance: the bird pulled off three or four small pieces of bark and placed them in the 
crack in such a way as to quite effectively cover up the cracker and protect it from easy 
discovery! 
The bird then came back for a larger piece of cracker which it carried across the 
river as it did the first piece, first ascending by a series of short flights well toward the 
top of the same tall tree and then disappearing among the trees on the other side. Sev- 
eral of our party then went to the tree where the bird had hidden the cracker and all 
saw the cracker and the pieces of bark with which the bird had covered it up so neatly. 
— Barton Warren Evermann,. California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco. 
Another Record of the Occurrence of the Emperor Goose in California. — While in 
San Jose recently I noticed a mounted Emperor Goose (Philacte canagica) in a store 
window. On inquiry at the store and through the correspondence which ensued, I was 
able to get the following information. The specimen was obtained on the Glyde Ranch 
near Davis, Yolo County, California, by G. H. Anderson of San Jose. The mounted speci- 
men bears the date of December, 1906. Mr. Anderson says that the bird had been seen 
on a pond for about three weeks before its capture, and that other hunters had not been 
able to get close enough for a shot. By driving within ninety yards, a lucky shot 
brought it down. 
