Nov., 1914 
BREEDING OF THE BRONZED COWBIRD IN ARIZONA 
259 
was done in rivalry, for the edification of a female under another tree a few 
yards distant. 
I have heard them utter only two notes, the more common being a high- 
pitched squeak with a decided burr to it, somewhat similar to that of the 
Dwarf, which latter, however, lacks the burr. The other note, rarely heard, is 
like the least discordant note of the overture to the Yellow-headed Blackbird’s 
song. 
The birds, as stated, stay around the barnyard where they pick up corn 
and other grains and scraps from the table thrown to the chickens ; and they 
also remain around the school yard, where they eat watermelon set in the 
shade for birds of all kinds. They are sometimes seen in company with the 
Dwarf Cowbirds, but they make them stand back when there is refreshment 
at hand. The Thrashers are about the only birds that do not take a back seat 
for them at the table, though they seem to observe a sort of truce with the 
Gila Woodpeckers, and eat from the same slice of melon. Sometimes one, and 
sometimes the other, gets peevish and ends the truce. 
Sacat'on, Arizona, July 26, igi4. 
FROM FIELD AND STUDY 
Arizona Records. — The following notes were suggested by the reading of Swarth’s 
recently published “Distributional List of the Birds of Arizona”. The records of the 
Band-tailed Pigeon breeding in the Santa Rita Mountains apparently give an additional 
breeding station for the species within the state, but with this exception my remarks are 
mainly directed toward the correction of mistakes, which in one way or another have 
grown up about records made many years ago. 
Band-tailed Pigeon. Columha fasciata. There apparently are no published state- 
ments of the breeding of this bird in the Santa Rita Mountains. Two nests were found 
by me in this range, in the vicinity of Greaterville, with data as follows. One on July 6, 
1884, the nest made of fine twigs, laid across a horizontal fork of a small branch of a 
pine tree, about twenty feet from the ground. Parent bird seen on the nest. Incuba- 
tion advanced. The second was found July 18, 1884. It also contained one egg, was 
placed in an oak tree, twelve feet from the ground, and the parent bird was flushed 
from the nest. Incubation begun. 
In this connection I wish, for the sake of emphasis, to repeat the statement I have 
already made (Condor xv, 1913, p. 129), in regard to an early nest I found in the Laguna 
Mountains, San Diego County, California, on March 6, 1877. This record was mistakenly 
applied to Arizona by Bendire (Life Hist. N. Am. Birds, i, 1892, p. 124), giving an erron- 
eous idea of the length of the breeding season in that state. It has, in fact, been cited 
for that very purpose by Grinnell (Condor xv, 1913, p. 32) in his excellent account of the 
species. As a matter of fact the Band-tailed Pigeon is a late breeder in Arizona, the sea- 
son when eggs may be found extending approximately from the first of July until 
toward the end of September. In the hope of correcting a mistake of long standing I 
may be excused for repeating this statement. 
Baird Sparrow. Ammodramus bairdi. Two specimens collected by myself, one on 
August 29, the other August 30, 1884, about eight miles north of Sasahe, Sonora, Mexico. 
These birds were recorded by Brewster (Auk, ii, 1885, p. 198). Mr. Swarth has not in- 
cluded this record in his “List”, perhaps being under the impression that it represents 
a Mexican locality, but the point of capture was north of the United States-Mexican 
boundary line, and in Arizona, about seventy miles southwest of Tucson. 
Slate-colored Sparrow. Passerella iliaca schistacea. Three specimens taken by my- 
self on Big Sandy Creek, near Signal, Mohave County, Arizona. A female shot February 
6, and two males, February 9, 1880. Brewster’s record for Tucson (Auk, ii, 1885, p. 198) 
was a mistake, as it referred to one of these birds. — Frank Stephens, San Diego, Cali- 
fornia. 
