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MAR., I902. I THE CONDOR 45 broadcast throughout California west of the Sierras. Last December I found them fairly numerous in the neighborhood of Pacific Grove and Monterey, where they were detected only among dense brush on shaded north hillsides or along clearings in the woods. The leaf-scratching habit gave the usual clue to their whereabouts. The five Passerelias collected, at once struck me as differing from those of the townsendi group in my collection from Southern California and from Central California east of the coast belt. Examination of all available material brings to light several more skins exactly like the Monterey specimens. These are all from the Santa Cruz District (Sierra Morena; Pescadero Creek.) None from elsewhere are comparable. So that here is apparently a race confined to a circumscribed winter habitat, far removed from its summer habitat. Vigors, in the zoology of the voyage of H. M. S. Blossom, x839, page x9, de- scribes from Monterey a Fring'illa merulaides, the brief description of which ap- plies quite well to this form. He does not give any date of capture, but in ac- cordance with my foregoing remarks, there can be little doubt but that it'was the present race he had in hand. Therefore it may be called Passerella iliaca meru- laides (Vigors), with the following description: SUBSP. CH?R.--Most nearly like Passerella iliaca insularis Ridgway, but bill decidedly smaller and coloration throughout darker and browner. TOPOTYP?--?, No. 5o56. Coil. J. G.; Pacific Grove, Monterey Co., California; Dec. 3o, x9ox COLORaTIoN--Top and sides of head, back, wings and tail, prout brown tending toward. seal brown; forehead and superciliary stripe, grayer; edgings of wings and tail, brightening toward walnut brown; maxillary region, sides and spotting on lower surface, prout brown tinged with burnt umber; flanks, bistre; lower tail coverts streaked with bistre and edged with isabella color; belly and remainder of lower surface, white; base of lower mandible, gallstone yellow. M?suR?.,a?s--Wing, 8t ram: tail, 75; culmen, I?; depth of bill, 8.25; tarsus, 25; hind toe with claw, 2o. I do not know what the extent of the summer habitat of this race is. I have no Alaskan specimens at hand like it. But judging from Ridgway's brief descrip- tion, his l?asserella iliaca annectens from Yakutat Bay, Alaska, is synonymous. If this is the case, then the form breeding in the akutat Bay district is this one which winters in the Santa Cruz district. FROM FIELD AND STUDY. A Criticism of Two Recent Recortls.--In the //u? for January t9o2 are two Californian bird records that I believe to be erroneous. On page 80 Mr. Loomis states that the California Academy of Sciences has an example of J?jricro- pallas whitneyi collected by J. A. Kusche April 20 ?898 ten miles from San Bernardino. Mr. Kusche obtained an owl of this species that came from Arizona, from R. B. Herron of San Ber- nardino, and we believe that it is the same owl recorded in the Au?. On page 83 Mr. Loomis records a male Eugenesfulgens as having been taken by Kusche in San Gorgonio Pass, Riverside County July xS, x899. I believe this hummingbird was cne ob- tained from Webster by Kusche. If Mr. Loomis had known Kusche as well as we southern Californians do, he would not have made these records.--FafNir ST?Zm?:?S, San Diego, Cal. Occurrence of the Redpoll in California.--As new notes are always interesting, these are my observations on Acanlhis /inaria, recorded in the winter of x899 near Eagle Lake, Lassen County, Cal. The redpoll arrived in my neighborhood on Nov. 3 o. At first I found only two large flocks, but later numerous smaller ones greatly increased their numbers. I ran into the first of these flocks, well in forest, a mile or so from a valley. The birds were circling about over the tree-tops, twittering noisily, much after the manner of Spinttspinus, and now and then they would settle into the upper branches of some pine, to be off again almost before the stragglers had reached it. Later the flock settled in the birches and bushes along a small stream, alighting all around me. The crops of seven birds shot here were gorged with buds from the birch shoots. Late the same afternoon I found another flock out in the sage brush, three-quarters of a mile from the edge of the forest. These birds had been feeding on the tender buds of the sage. Their plumage was quite dirty. All through December flocks of redpolls could be found near