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98 THE CONDOR Vol. XVII they appear at all pugnacious, as do baby Squawks, but drew away timidly at the al? proach of the hand, and for the rest divided their time between panting lustily and scrambling about in search of shade. The parent birds on all occasions were perfectly silent, and they maintained a dis- creet aloofness--sad commentary on the fiery furnace of affliction through which this gentle race has passed.--WILLIAM LEON DAWSO-?, Santa Barbara, California. Additional Records of the California Clapper Rail and Red Phalarope in California. '--On November 22, 1914, Mr..L.P. Bolander, Jr., secured at Tomales Bay, near Point Reyes Station, Marin County, California, the following two specimens which have been donated by him to the California Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. Railus obsoletus, California Clapper Rail (no. 24915, Mus. Vert. Zocl.), immature male. This is the first record of the species on the ocean side of the Marin peninsula. Phalaropus futicariUs, Red Phalarope (no. 24916, Mus. Vert. Zool.), immature female, in full winter plumage. The present record is the latest for the season for the north- western coast of California. Beck (Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., 4th ser., 1910, vol. 3, p. 70) states that there are fifteen specimens of this species in the collection of the California Academy taken near Monterey during December and January. Early in January, 1915, Mr. F. J. Smith submitted two specimens of Clapper Rail taken on Humboldt Bay, to the Museum. of Vertebrate Zoology for determination. The specimens are typical Railus obsotetus (California Clapper Rail). One of these birds was taken by Mr. Fiebig and is at present in the library of the Eureka School. The other is the property of Dr. F. J. Ottmer. These specimens substantiate the Humboldt Bay rec- ord made by Cooper and Suckley (Natural History of Washington Territory, 1859, p. 246) and, together with the Tomales Bay specimen, extend the area of occurrence of the species beyond that given by Cooke (U.S. Dept. Agric., bull. 128, 1914, pp. 18, 19).-- TRACY I. STORER, California Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Berkeley, California. Red' Phalarope in the San Diegan District.--In view of the scarcity of records of the Red Phalarope (Phataropus fuIicarius) from inland points in southern California, it seems worth while to publish a statement relative to specimens recently collected by myself at Nigger Slough, Los Angeles County, California. A female in full breeding plumage was secured May 25, 1914. On November 8, 1914, a male and a female in winter plumage were taken from a flock of about fifty of the same species. The next day, cov- ering the same ground, just three of the birds were observed, and I have seen none since. A large flock of Avocets (Recurcirostra americana) was seen, and a pair secured, at the same place, November 15, 1914; and a pair of Marbled Godwits (Limosa fegoa) were also taken at this time.--L D. No?Es, Los Angeles, California. A Two Hours' Acquaintance With a Family of Water Ouzels.--On August 5, 1914, we were following down Rattlesnake Creek, near Cisco, Placer County, when our attention was drawn to the screaming of some nestling birds. Water Ouzels (Cinclus mexicanus u?licotor) had been seen in the vicinity, and the locality seemed to be ideal as a nesting site for this species. A waterfall about fifteen feet in height tumbled over a rocky ledge at this point into a fine large pool of clear water which was surrounded, on all but one side, by perpendicular walls of rock. We were not surprised, therefore, to find, on inves- tigation, a Water Ouzel's nest built in a cleft of the rock about two feet from the falling stream of water. The moss of which the nest was built had formerly been kept. green by trickling water, but at this date had begun to turn brown. White excrement below the entrance to the nest led to its discovery. On approaching the nest, one of the occupants, a well-fledged Water Ouzel, flut- tered from the entrance and dropped down into the pool of water below. Here it imme- diately dove and swam for a distance of six feet or more and at 'a depth of about two feet below the surface of the water. Quick, short' strokes of the wings enabled the bird to swim rapidly in this medium. A moment later a second bird flew from the nest. This one, unlike the first, did not dive, but swam about on top of the water, using its wings in the same manner, how- ever. Still another young bird remained in the nest, but repeated attempts to dislodge it failed. An adult with food in its mouth soon appeared, jumping from rock to rock and "bobbing" continuously. Its call was answered by the birds in the water and the one in