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96 Vol. XVII FROM FIELD AND STUDY Franklin Gull: A New Record for Californla.--Three specimens of the Franklin Gull (Larus franklini) have been taken by me at Hyperion, Los Angeles County, California, as follows: No. 1500 (coil. of J. E. Law), sex not ascertained, November 22, 1913;, no. 2350, male, October 17, 1914; no. 2587, female, November 24, 1914. All three are in sim- ilar plumage, and are apparently immature, corresponding closely in appearance to a specimen (labelled "juv.") from Clay County, Texas, taken October 1, 1879 (coil U.S. National Museum, no. 80007). The latter is in much fresher plumage than either of mine, and my October specimen, though somewhat worn, is again in notably fresher plumage than either of the two November birds. In two of my specimens (nos. 1500 and 2350) the forehead is largely white, sparsely flecked with dusky; in the third (no. 2587) the whole top of head is dusky, with a little white on the forehead. In all three there is a quite solid dusky area covering cheeks and back of head. A small dusky crescent around front of eye is conspicuous in all. In the. November birds the wing coverts are faded and wo. rn, giving a rusty appearance. In' number 1500 (taken November 22) the narrow white tips of the primaries are worn almost away, as is much of the edging of the scapulars. The white tips of the rectrices (in new feathers about 5 mm. broad) are also nearly gone.. All three of my birds have the broad black, or dark brown, subterminal band across the tail, covering all but the outer rectrices, the one marking which, in this species as in L. philsale.his, is apparently the most obvious means of distinguishing immatures from winter adults. All have the slaty mantle, different from the brownish wing-coverts, and all have the entire under-parts white, though with slaty flecks on sides of upper breast. One of my birds, and also the National Museum immature at hand, shows a slight pink- ish tinge on throat and upper breast. In all three of'my specimens bill, tarsi and feet are black, showing no trace of the reddish color ascribed to these parts in the several books I have consulted. Mr. H. S. Swarth, afterpronouncing my birds to be Larus franklini, procured for my use, through the courtesy of Dr. C. W Richmond, the loan of two specimens of this species, for comparison, from the collection of the United States National Museum. One of these, a fall immature, is mentioned above. The other (coil U.S. Nat. Mus. no. 4320) is an adult, beginning to molt into summer plumage. The privilege of examining these specimens was of inestimable value in ascertaining the status of my birds, as there apparently is no material of this sort in Pacific Coast collections, and I wish here to record my appreciation of the courtesy. The three birds I have collected were taken from large flocks of Bonaparte Gulls (Larus philadelphia). They resemble the latter in size and general appearance, but can readily be distinguished in life by their dusky "collar" and dark-colored primaries. The winter home of the Franklin Gull, as given by the A. O. U. Check-List, includes the west coast of South America; and in the British Museum Catalogue of Birds (vol. 25, 1896, p. 194) there are specimens listed from th? west coast of Mexl . Apparently, however, the present record constitutes the first for the Pacific Coast of North America, certainly the first for Californi? The dates of capture indicate the probability of the species remaining here throughout the winter. Can it be that this bird is a regular visitor to our southern coast, though in limited numbers, and has it simply been over- looked heretofore?--J. E. LAW, Hollywood, California. Scott Oriole at San Diego in the Fall,--On September 2, 1914, I saw a male Scott Oriole (Icterus parisorum) in eucalytus trees on the Panama-California Exposition grounds in San Diego. This is the latest date on which I have seen this species here.- FRANK STEPHENS, San Diego, California. Early Nesting of the Texas Nighthawk.--Oberholser in his recent "Monograph of the Genus Choralelies", p. 93, gives April 27 as the earliest recorded date in the United States for eggs of the Texas Nighthawk (Choralelies acutipennis texensis). Joseph Grinnell in his "Birds of the Pacific Slope of Los Angeles County" (Pasadena Acad. Sci. Publ. no. 2, p. 27) reports the taking by himself of a set of fresh eggs of this species on April 21, 1897, near Pasadena; and this record is quoted by Willett (Pac. Coast Avifauna no. 7, p. 58). On the 17th of April, 1914, I took a set of these eggs in which incubation was Slightly advanced, near the San Juan River, in San Luis Obispo County.--WILLrA? LEO:? DAWSON, ?anta Barbara, California.