32 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XVIII 
more. It is possible that the other birds seen might also have been C. dominions ; but 
it must be stated that the Black-bellied Plover is a common migrant in Washington, and 
it seems equally possible that the others might have been Squatarola squatarola. 
Since the above-mentioned specimen was obtained Mr. D. E. Brown, of Seattle, 
Washington, tells me that a Golden Plover was taken some time ago in the vicinity of 
that city, but I believe that it has never been put on record. Mr. Brown also tells me 
that a year or two ago he saw on the Tacoma Flats what he feels certain was a bird of 
this species, owing to the large amount of yellow on the upper parts. This was in the 
late spring and the bird appeared to be in full breeding plumage. It seems possible, 
therefore, that this plover is of more frequent occurrence in the state than has been sup- 
posed.- — J. H. Bowles, Tacoma, Washington. 
A Note on the Food of the Northern Pileated Woodpecker.- — The stomach contents 
of a specimen of the Northern Pileated Woodpecker (Pliloeotomus pileatus ahieticola) 
taken at Lakeport, Lake County, California, November 5, 1915, and sent to the Univer- 
sity of California Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, was found to be of peculiar interest. 
The stomach contained more than fifty carpenter ants ( Camponotus herculaneus subsp.) 
and 131 seeds of poison oak ( Rhus diversiloha) . As the seeds of poison oak are hard 
and without a noticeable covering of softer material it is difficult to understand what 
there is about them that is attractive to birds. Certain it is that the seeds are incapa- 
ble of complete digestion by woodpeckers. In California poison oak is a favorite food 
of the Red-shafted Flicker also. Ants are commonly taken by the Flicker, California 
Woodpecker and by Sapsuckers. 
The stomachs of two Pileated Woodpeckers taken in or near Yosemite National 
Park (orig. nos. 1545 and 7814, in Mus. Vert. Zool.) were filled with carpenter ants 
( Camponotus herculaneus modoc Wheeler), many of them winged. Each stomach con- 
tained more than a hundred of these ants. In addition one stomach contained a whole 
fruit of manzanita ( Arctostaphylos nevadensis Gray) and the other, four large beetle 
larvae (Ceramhycidae) , unidentifiable as to genus or species, which had evidently been 
dug out of some dead tree, as the stomach contained slivers of dead wood. 
The above evidence shows that the animal food of the Pileated Woodpecker in 
California is largely made up of carpenter ants ( Camponotus sp.) and to a lesser extent 
of wood-boring larvae. Vegetable food in the shape of poison oak seeds and the fruit of 
manzanita is occasionally taken. — H. C. Bryant, Berkeley, California. 
Occurrence of Emperor Goose in Northern California. — On November 1, 1915, Mr. S. 
M. Gridley, of Gridley, California, brought me an Emperor Goose for mounting. The 
bird was in full adult plumage, and in good physical condition. Sex identification was 
impossible on account of the damaged state of the internal organs. I at once appre- 
ciated the rarity of the goose and endeavored to obtain possession of the specimen, but 
the owner declined to part with it. 
The gentleman reported that for a week prior to being killed, this goose had fre- 
quented, in the company of a flock of Cackling Geese, the territory adjacent to the tules 
west of the town. The bird was so tame as to lead to the supposition that it was a crip- 
ple, and only upon being closely approached did it fly. 
I was further told that a similar goose had been shot last year in the same locality. 
— Carl S. Muller, Marysville, California. 
Townsend Solitaire in the San Jacinto Mountains. — In the field work conducted in 
the San Jacinto Mountains in 1908 by the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, and subse- 
quently reported upon by Grinnell and Swarth (Univ. Calif. Publ. Zool., vol. 10, 1913, pp. 
197-406), the Townsend Solitaire ( Myadestes townsendi ) was not met with at any point. 
From the number of collectors in our party, enabling us to cover a wide extent of ground, 
and from the length of time we spent in the mountains, we felt justified in the conclu- 
sion that our failure to encounter this species meant that it did not breed in this 
southern range. It was, therefore, with the greatest interest that I recently learned 
from Mr. O. W. Howard that this was a mistaken idea. 
Messrs. O. W. Howard and H. J. Lelande spent a few days of this year (1915) in 
Strawberry Valley and vicinity, where they discovered two nests of the Solitaire. The 
first was far up a narrow canyon heading on Tahquitz Peak and opening out in the 
