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9  ?. ? j :". '?"- "?': ;'" :': THE CONDOR [ Vol. II ?-': ?,: ..: :..' ? ,;: : All the birds are laying early this year. Mr. E. B. Ballard of Creston took a setof two Golden Eagle on Feb. r5 and another set of two of the same species on the i6th of the same month. Obtained a set of three California Screech Owl, heavily incubated,on the x5th of March. CnAs. S. THOMPSON, Paso Robles, Cal. lhe Indig0 Bunting in 6olorad0,---Larimer is the most northern county in Colorado. Situated as it is, the western part is of rugg{Sd mountains, the southern and a por- tion of the eastern is covered with fertile farms while the northern and north- eastern is of barrerl plains, all of which offer to the bird student each year new surprises. This spring we had with us for sex?eral days a flock of eight or ten In- digo Buntings (Passerina ,anea.) Prof. Cooke in his list of Colorado birds says, "Rare if not accidental. Taken twice in Colorado, once in E1 Paso County, while the other specimen is in the Maxwell collection." The Maxwell collection is without labels J)ut is supposed to have been taken about twenty years ago in the vicinity of Boulder, Boulder Co. This county joins Larimer on the South. The Indigo Bunting occurs'regularly in eastern Kansas, and I think that in a short time they will come regularly to Colorado. One has but to note the changes in this section within the past twenty-five years, the barren plain with only a few trees along the streams has changed to cultivated farms with shade trees and young orchards. In a few years more we will probably be able to add many eastern species to our already largelist of birds. W.L. Bu?;?, Ft. Collins, Col. 1%?ting o? $ay'? Phoebe in 6aliiornia.--It may be interesting to report that on May ?, ?9oo I collected a set of four eggs of Say's Phoebe (Sa_vornis sa?a) near this place, in which incubation was begun. The nest was fastened to the side of a cave and composed of dry grass plaste/ed together with mud. Subsequently I collected two other sets of four eggs each, and Messrs. Morcom and Swarth of Los Angeles kindly assisted in the identification of the birds. C. B. I,?N'rox, Whittier, Cal. ?t0tes I:r0m Alameda, 6al.--The Sharp-shinned Hawk (Mccipiler ve/o.r)has been commoner at Alameda this winter than ever before. On Feb. 7 I took a ? the darkest I have yet noted. It had just eaten a California Towbee (Pipilof crissa- lis) and allowed me to approach within forty feet as it sat on the gronnd where it had been for some time. The hawk was quite thin and one leg had knit over an old break. In the matter of discoloration of plumage of certain birds as mentioned by Rich- ard C. McGregor in the January CO?)OR (p. t8) some of the birds mentioned by Mr. Slevin were possibly shot by me, but the discoloration I attribute to their con- tact with the foliage of the cypress and pine, especially the latter and perhaps the eucalyptus. The most notable cases of discoloration under my notice have .been in the California Purple Finch (Uarpodacus p. calt.'/br?ticus) shot at different seasons among the pines, except perhaps the ArkansasGoldfinch (Spinttspsa/lria,) that feeds on asort of gummy weed of the thistle variety. The Sharp-shinned Hawk spends c6nsiderable time among the pines as does the Desert Sparrow Hawk (b?/co s. deserlicoDts.) Specimens of the latter that I have seen have been so soiled as to appear dark on the breast and much soiled-looking upon the wing and tail tips. The Red-shafted Flicker (Colapies cad?'r ) is more or less soiled in in- divi.dual specimens. It frequents these trees a great deal but a great amount of discoloration is due to its fondness for buildings and unused flues. The House Finch (Uarpodacus m.fronlalis) is often considerably soiled where nesting in pine and cypress.trees and often feeds among the tar weed thistles with the gold- finches. A few specimens of Western Flycatcher (Empido?tax d?cilis) and Rus- set-backed Thrush (l3,1ocic/da tt$ttdatTt$) taken breeding in pine and cypress groves showed no soiled plumages. Replying to Mr. Joseph Mailliard's remarks in the CO?)OR (I. 54) as to which sex predominates in winter residents in different localities, [ give my observa-