Mar., 1908 SPRING NOTES FROM SANTA CATALINA ISLAND 67 fastened to the twig by the aid of spider-web, the same substance being used to adhere green moss to the outside. Occasionally vegetable down was used in the lining. The dimensions of two nests are as follows: I. Outside--Diameter, 59 mm., depth, 37 mm. Inside--Diameter, 35 mm., depth, 15 mm. II. Outside--Diameter, 47 mm., depth, 35 mm. Inside--Diam- eter, 27 mm., depth, 15 mm. The males resorted to the wild tobacco bushes (?Vicotiana glauca) which grew abundantly in the washes. They were very pugnacious little fellows, constantly fighting and chasing one another about. Sayornis nigricans. Black Phcebe. A single individual was heard on the morning of April 18, 1906. This was the only one noted. Empidonax difficilis. Western Flycatcher. One of the most abundant birds on the Island. Found wherever there is shrubbery, from the shore to the highest ridges. The birds were in pairs and the breeding season was apparently just be- ginning, one partly completed nest being found. Some time was spent in watching the owners of this nest. One of the birds would work on the nest, while the other, presumably the male, would place itself in an exposed position to ward off intruders. Evidently it classed all birds as in- truders, for an innocent Dusky Warbler, which happened to alight in the tree, was instantly driven off, leaving behind a goodly number of feathers. The inadvisability of retaining the name "insulicola" for the Empidonax from the Santa Barbara Islands has been discussed in previous numbers of T?: CON?)OR x and will 'not be reiterated here. Corvus corax sinuatus. Mexican Raven. Very common. Most any time sev- eral could be seen flying about, and uttering a peculiar clicking note. On April 19, 1905, a nest containing six eggs was found. It was built in a wild cherry tree fifteen feet from the ground, and was made of good-sized sticks, lined with black and white sheep's wool. Incubation was fresh in every egg but one, that being Slightly addled. Icteru.q cucullatus neisoni. Arizona Hooded Oriole. Heard once on April 16, 1906. Probably more common later, as I have observed them a number of times in the summer. Carpodacus mexicanus clementis. San Clemente Linnet. Abundant in the eucalyptus trees about Avalon and in the cactus patches farther inland where they were nesting. Many partially finished nests and incomplete sets were noted, indi- cating that the breeding season had just begun. The nest is built on a branch of cactus usually well in toward the center of the patch, and is composed outwardly of weeds and like substances, lined with grass and sheep's wool. A set of four eggs taken are essentially like those of the mainland form. Astragalinus psaltria hesperophilus. Green-backed Goldfinch. Observed sev- eral times in the weed patches on the hillsides. Astragalinus lawrencei. Lawrence Goldfinch. Lawrence Goldfinches were seen several times flying overhead, uttering their characteristic metalic notes the while, but were not as common as the Green-backed. Zonotrichia leucophrys gainbell. Intermediate Sparrow. {?uite common in the washes. As they are known to be an abundant winter visitant ? probably the
bulk of them had gone north before my arrival.
Zonotrichia coronata. Golden-crowned Sparrow. Seen on several occasions in 1906 but not detected in 1905. They frequented the washes in company with the previously named species. See COl?DOR Vol VII, No. 2, pp. $x-b2; and CONDOR Vol. VIII, NO. 3, P. 74. See Auk Vol. xlr? No. 3, P. 255.
