130 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XVIII 
Some Raptores of Douglas County, South Dakota. — The following list was made in 
Douglas County, southeastern South Dakota, in the years of 1909, ’10, ’ll, and ’12. 
Cathartes aura septentrionalis. Turkey Vulture. I have two autumn records of 
this species, one of which is for September 8, 1911. 
Circus hudsonius. Marsh Hawk. A typical bird of the prairie marshes, and from 
an economic standpoint, one of the most beneficial birds of the region. 
Aquila chrysaetos. Golden Eagle. A fine example of this species was accidentally 
killed November 11, 1911, by flying against a wire fence, near the town of Delmont. 
Falco sparverius. Sparrow Hawk. Probably a rare summer resident; becomes 
common in September. 
Pandion haliaetus carolinensis. Osprey. Occasionally seen in autumn. 
Asio wilsotiianus. Long-eared Owl. I have but one record, a specimen taken Sep- 
tember 24, 1911. 
Asio flammeus. Short-eared Owl. Resident. Found in the vicinity of sloughs and 
marshy hay land. 
Cryptoglaux acadica. Saw-whet Owl. A specimen taken at Armour, January 27, 
1910. 
Otus asio asio. Screech Owl. Three nests of this species were found. Two were in 
cavities in cottonwood trees, and the third was in a deserted Flicker hole in a telephone 
pole. 
Nyctea nyctea. Snowy Owl. An occasional winter visitant, more common in severe 
winters. Their favorite resting places are straw stacks. 
Speotyto cunicularia hypogaea. Burrowing Owl. Common. Breeds singly or in 
colonies; a nest examined May 16, 1911, was located in a burrow, about eight feet from 
the entrance, and contained ten eggs, at different stages of incubation. — -Alex. Walker, 
Tillamook, Oregon. 
The Broad-tailed Hummingbird in California. — At the present time the Broad-tailed 
Hummingbird ( Selasphorus platycercus) is relegated to the list of “species credited to 
California on unsatisfactory grounds” (Grinnell, Pacific Coast Avifauna, 11, 1915, 184), 
and properly so, the three alleged occurrences of the species being shown to have been 
erroneous. Nevertheless the writer is convinced, from reasons that follow, that the 
species does occur within the state, and that field work in the proper localities would 
soon demonstrate its presence. During May, 1912, with one assistant, I spent about two 
weeks in the Inyo Mountains, in pursuit of field work for the Museum of Vertebrate 
Zoology. This is a high, rugged range separating Owens Valley from the more forbidding- 
desert region to the eastward. We were encamped in Mazourka Canyon, some ten 
miles from its mouth, a canyon emptying into Owens Valley opposite the town of Inde- 
pendence. 
Several times during our stay I was satisfied that I heard the shrill buzz of wings 
of the male Broad-tailed Hummingbird, but not until our last day at this point was I 
able to get sight of the bird. This noise is as loud, and quite as characteristic as in 
the Rufous and Allen hummingbirds, though of a different tone; as far as I know it is 
absolutely distinctive among North American hummingbirds. Acquaintance with the 
species in the mountains of Arizona had familiarized me with this flight sound, and 
also with the fact that the birds are frequently most difficult to see despite their noisy 
mode of progression. I was not greatly surprised at my failure to catch sight of the 
hummingbirds which I was satisfied were in Mazourka Canyon, but kept on the alert, 
and finally had a fleeting glimpse of one. On May 24, as we were breaking camp, a male 
bird, with shrill buzz of wings, darted in front of me, and poised in the sunlight but a 
few feet away. Though gone again before I could make a move for a gun, the sight 
was sufficient to clinch the identification, to my own satisfaction at least, for the 
green back and top of head, and gleaming red throat, together with the manner of 
flight, formed an unmistakable combination of characters. 
As no specimen was secured it is quite proper that the species remain for the 
present in the “Hypothetical List”. My intention here is to call attention to this 
occurrence as an incentive to future observers in this region. From faunal and zonal 
considerations it is to be expected that the species occur in the Inyo Mountains, as well 
as in other nearby ranges. — H. S. Swarth, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. Berkeley, 
California. 
