July, 1914 
FROM FIELD AND STUDY 
181 
passing along so that they may be of use to others. There are numberless ways of 
keeping field records systematically, and most of us have our own little pet notions 
about the one best way for this. What seems to be most desirable is to keep each 
species separate in card index form, making the different entries under their proper 
heads as soon as one returns from a trip. This in a way is a little cumbersome and 
has other drawbacks. Probably most of us in referring to our notes wish to refresh 
our memories in regard to the birds of some one section rather than general' notes re- 
lating to a particular species. On the other hand, those who make nearly all their ob- 
servations in one section would, I think, find the card index system of species most 
desirable. 
I do not pose as an authority on the best method of note-keeping; I only know 
what system best suits my individual needs. While in the field and the majority of 
our birds are wrapped up, it is often hard to tell just what subspecies we take from 
day to day, — for instance, whether we have a Pileolated or a Golden Pileolated Warb- 
ler on a certain day, and there are often other things in our notes that need correcting. 
As soon as I return from a trip I sort out and identify the doubtful subspecies, make a 
note of the latter, and copy my notes. Those whose chirography is more legible than 
mine can trust to their pen, but I typewrite mine on a good quality of paper with the 
best and most lasting ink-ribbon obtainable, fasten the sheets together with paper clips, 
put the notes of each trip in a labelled manila fol'der and file the folders away in a 
fiber case. Some may object to this method, but the main and only thing is to have 
your notes in a lasting and legible form, and to follow some simple standardized sys- 
tem. 
After the advisability of keeping notes for your own reference, is to see that after 
you are gone, they shall be put where they will be of the greatest help to others. Don’t 
leave them knocking around to be thrown out with your old worthless papers, and don’t 
leave them to your best friend. I would give a good deal if a certain ornithologist 
whose memory we all revere had put his notes where they could now be located, — notes 
that are a good deal more valuable than most of us have ever made; so, for the cause 
of science and the help of those younger ones who will be left when you are gone, in- 
struct the members of your family to send your notes to some safe and sound institu- 
tion where they will be in safe keeping and accessible to those who wish to use them. 
In order that these would not be too scattered, why not, all you western ornithologists, 
leave your notes to the Cooper Club? Mr. Grinnell, at the Museum of Vertebrate Zool- 
ogy, Berkeley, or Mr. Chambers, at Eagle Rock, where most of the Club property is 
housed, are well situated to take care of these field notes, and could loan parts of them 
to members in good standing who might be engaged in special work. In time, this 
would grow to be quite a feature of the Club, and a very valuable one at that. — A. 
Beazier Howell, Covina, California. 
Notes from Vicinity of Claremont, California. — In looking over the “From Field 
and Study” department in last Condor, I noticed Mr. Pierce’s note on Phainopepla 
nitens. Although it is a well known fact that Phainopeplas winter here in small num- 
bers, I thought it might be of interest to record that they were especially common the 
past winter. There was not a day passed that I did not see at least one of these birds and 
no day when it would not have been possible to find on search a half dozen or more. 
I have in mind particularly a female that resided all winter in the trees (pepper and 
sycamore) around the grammar school. It was while hunting on the mesa that I en- 
countered them most often, in bushy country. 
In connection with this I should like to mention the scarcity and peculiar actions of 
the Cedar Waxwings (Bomhy cilia cedrorum). As I was particularly anxious to obtain 
specimens of these birds I watched for them most carefully all winter. Although a 
common winter visitant, there were none here during December or January, and it was 
not until the first part of February I received word of a flock west of town. I searched 
diligently all the pepper trees in the vicinity for three separate days, but was unre- 
warded. Nothing was seen of them again until the middle of March when a flock of 
about five stopped in town for a day or two and then passed on. During April they be- 
came common but were nearly all gone by May first. Both Mr. Pierce and I spent our 
spare time searching in pepper trees just outside of town with no result. Although we 
naturally associate Waxwings with pepper trees, yet I did not see a single Waxwing in 
