98 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XVI 
era California (as a producer of much de- 
sired and expensive eggs), and which filled 
four pages of Mr. Grinnell’s San Bernardino 
report, has dwindled to a mere mention of 
four nondescripts caught during migration. 
“The collection includes four small flycatch- 
ers taken near Cabezon at the northern base 
of the mountains which we have, with some 
hesitation, placed in a different category from 
the breeding E. zvrigliti of the higher eleva- 
tions”. E. wrigliti, on the basis of 36 speci- 
mens, is conceded to be the breeding bird of 
the San Jacinto Mountains. “Apparently 
nothing is known of the nesting habits of E. 
griseus, the published breeding ranges being 
mere general statements with no precise data 
to support them.” There be those of us who 
know what a pang this acknowledgment costs 
the authors of the San Jacinto report, and 
precisely on this account we honor their 
scholarly integrity, — an integrity which de- 
pends first of all upon a zvillingncss to face 
the facts. i 
We have here renewed evidence of able, 
trustworthy leadership, and we are prepared 
to give, henceforth, an even more implicit 
obedience to Grinnell and Swarth’s taxonomic 
decrees. 1 
Several interesting cases of overlapping or 
interpenetrating faume are brought to light ; 
thus, Cactus Woodpecker, Dryobatcs scalaris 
cactophilus, a characteristic Colorado Desert 
form, is discovered at Vallevista at the Pa- 
cific base of the inoutains. While tlie Desert 
Quail {Lophortyx ga))ibeli) halts circum- 
spectly at the edge of the desert, the Valley 
Quail (L. calif oniica valUcola) spills out of 
its chaparral and mingles freel}' with its con- 
geners. In general, the San Diegan Pacific 
species are more presuming than their kins- 
folk; for the Anthony Towhee, P. crissalis 
scniciila, overlaps P. abcrti, and P. m. 
tnegalonyx, an Upper Sonoran species, 
coquettes with the open places. The most 
notable example of all, however, is furnished 
by the San Diego Song Sparrow, Mclospiza 
in. cooperi, which Messrs. Grinnell and 
Swarth found firmly established amid desert 
surroundings (albeit with local riparian as 
sociations) in lower Palm Canyon. These 
and similar occurrences among the mammals 
lead the authors to philosophize upon “The 
Behavior of Geographic Races on the Mar- 
gins of their Habitats”. The conclusions 
reached are sound ones, and present fascinat- 
ing vistas of suggestion, but their adequate 
consideration is beyond our present space. 
An excellent table of comparisons between 
the boreal faume of San Jacinto Peak and 
related mountain masses to the northwaici is 
presented and certain conclusions reached 
which are stated in the form of laws. It will 
be, perhaps, of as great interest to those who 
do not have access to this paper, to compare 
the San Jacinto area broadly with the San 
Bernardino Mountain district, already so 
carefully studied by Mr. Grinnell*. The pres- 
ent paper reports 169 species as against 139 
for the San Bernardino area. Of these, 42 
were not found at all in the San Bernardino 
Mountains ; bub when we have eliminated 
migrants, casuals, and species common to the 
desert base of both ranges, as well as those 
which, through lack of opportunity or com- 
pleteness of observation, rather than by rea- 
son of actual difference in geographical range, 
were not reported from the San Bernardino 
Range, we find only two species, J’irco 
z'icinior and PolioptUa calif oniica , which do 
not venture north of the San Jacintos. 
On the other hand, although the San Ber- 
nardino list contains only 12 names which 
do not appear in the present list, 7 of these 
are significant as being those of species not 
known to breed as far south as the San 
Jacinto Range. They are; Otus flainineolus, 
Chordeilcs virginianns hesperis, Anipliispisa 
nevadensis canescens, Hylocichla guttata 
sequoieusis, Plancsticus migratorius propin- 
quus, Sialia currucoidcs, and Myadcstes tozvn- 
sendi. It is notable that four of these should 
be Upper Transition and Boreal Turdines, 
which thus find on the flanks of “Grayback”, 
San Jacinto’s elder and more favored brother, 
their southernmost Pacific breeding station. 
It is not impossible that the Townsend Soli- 
taire may yet be found on San Jacinto, but 
the remaining three are certainly absent. 
This San Jacinto bird-book, as it deserves 
to be called, is a mine of information for the 
bird student, from whatever angle it is 
viewed. It is so good, that one who loves 
birds better than he does bird-skins cannot 
help wishing that half as many bird-skins 
might have served these insatiable scientists, 
so that there would have been time left to 
observe and to record more life-histories. It 
is not enough to say, “Let others do that”, 
for there are not in the West two other more 
gifted observers of birds than Messrs. Swarth 
and Grinnell. Of Mr. Grinnell, especially, 1 
cannot forbear to say that some of his re- 
cent biographical sketches evince a keenness 
of insight, and bring out a wealth of first- 
hand information which mark him as poten- 
tially the foremost biographer of Western 
birds. We learn from this volume that the 
authors took seventeen “specimens” of the 
Gray Vireo ; yet I submit that the six-page 
biograpliy is worth sixteen of them. Twenty- 
six specimens of the Black-chinned Sparrow 
* “The Biota of the San Bernardino Mountains”, by 
Joseph Grinnell (I’niv. Calif. Piibl. Zool. vol, 5. December 
31. 1908. pp. 1-170, pis. 1-24). 
