96 
Vol. XVII 
FROM FIELD AND STUDY 
Franklin Gull: A New Record for California— Three specimens of the Franklin Gull 
(Laras franklini) have been taken by me at Hyperion, Los Angeles County, California, 
as follows: No. 1500 (coll, of J. E. Law), sex not ascertained, November 22, 1913;, no. 
2350, male, October 17, 1914; no. 2587, female, November 24, 1914. All three are in sim- 
ilar plumage, and are apparently immature, corresponding closely in appearance to a 
specimen (labelled “juv.”) from Clay County, Texas, taken October 1, 1879 (coll. U. S. 
National Museum, no. 80007). The latter is in much fresher plumage than either of 
mine, and my October specimen, though somewhat worn, is again in notably fresher 
plumage than either of the two November birds. 
In two of my specimens (nos. 1500 and 2350) the forehead is largely white, sparsely 
flecked with dusky; in the third (no. 2587) the whole top of head is dusky, with a little 
white on the forehead. In all three there is a quite solid dusky area covering cheeks and 
back of head. A small dusky crescent around front of eye is conspicuous in all. In the 
November birds the wing coverts are faded and worn, giving a rusty appearance. In 
number 1500 (taken November 22) the narrow white tips of the primaries are worn 
almost away, as is much of the edging of the scapulars. The white tips of the rectrices 
(in new feathers about 5 mm. broad) are also nearly gone. 
All three of my birds have the broad black, or dark brown, subterminal band across 
the tail, covering all but the outer rectrices, the one marking which, in this species as in 
L. Philadelphia, is apparently the most obvious means of distinguishing immatures from 
winter adults. All have the slaty mantle, different from the brownish wing-coverts, and 
all have the entire under-parts white, though with slaty flecks on sides of upper breast. 
One of my birds, and also the National Museum immature at hand, shows a slight pink- 
ish tinge on throat and upper breast. In all three of my specimens bill, tarsi and feet are 
black, showing no trace of the reddish color ascribed to these parts in the several books 
I have consulted. 
Mr. H. S. Swarth, after pronouncing my birds to be Laras franklini, procured for my 
use, through the courtesy of Dr. C. W. Richmond, the loan of two specimens of this 
species, for comparison, from the collection of the United States National Museum. One 
of these, a fall immature, is mentioned above. The other (coll. U. S. Nat. Mus. no. 4320) 
is an adult, beginning to molt into summer plumage. The privilege of examining these 
specimens was of inestimable value in ascertaining the status of my birds, as there 
apparently is no material of this sort in Pacific Coast collections, and I wish here to 
record my appreciation of the courtesy. 
The three birds I have collected were taken from large flocks of Bonaparte Gulls 
(Laras Philadelphia). They resemble the latter in size and general appearance, but can 
readily be distinguished in life by their dusky “collar” and dark-colored primaries. 
The winter home of the Franklin Gull, as given by the A. O. U. Check-List, includes 
the west coast of South America; and in the British Museum Catalogue of Birds (vol. 
25, 1896, p. 194) there are specimens listed from the west coast of Mexico. Apparently, 
however, the present record constitutes the first for the Pacific Coast of North America, 
certainly the first for California. The dates of capture indicate the probability of the 
species remaining here throughout the winter. Can it be that this bird is a regular 
visitor to our southern coast, though in limited numbers, and has it simply been over- 
looked heretofore? — J. E. Law, Hollywood, California. 
Scott Oriole at San Diego in the Fall. — On September 2, 1914, I saw a male Scott 
Oriole (Icterus parisorum) in eucalytus trees on the Panama-California Exposition 
grounds in San Diego. This is the latest date on which I have seen this species here. — 
Frank Stephens, San Diego, California. 
Early Nesting of the Texas Nighthawk. — Oberholser in his recent “Monograph of the 
Genus Chordeiles”, p. 93, gives April 27 as the earliest recorded date in the United States 
for eggs of the Texas Nighthawk (Chordeiles acutipennis texensis) . Joseph Grinnell in 
his “Birds of the Pacific Slope of Los Angeles County” (Pasadena Acad. Sci. Publ. no. 
2, p. 27) reports the taking by himself of a set of fresh eggs of this species on April 21, 
1897, near Pasadena; and this record is quoted by Willett (Pac. Coast Avifauna no. 7, p. 
58). On the 17th of April, 1914, I took a set of these eggs in which incubation was 
slightly advanced, near the San Juan River, in San Luis Obispo County. — William Leon 
Dawson, Santa Barbara, California. 
