dagger. While collecting through this growth, I heard the very well-known notes of Leconte's thrasher and found the author; but as is generally the case with this species, a bird seen is by no means in the cabinet. After chasing him for several minutes I got a long-range snap-shot, but lost him. Later I heard one. or more others, but they could not be secured.

A. W. ANTHONY.

[In North American Fauna No. 7, Part II, Leconte's thrasher is recorded from the San Joaquin Valley, near Buena Vista Lake, upon the observations of Mr. Nelson. The maps which are published show that the distribution of the creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) and the northern distribution of Leconte's thrasher are almost exactly co-extensive.— W. E. B.]

VAUX'S SWIFT at RedwOOD CITY.

On June 25, 1893, Mr. C. Littlejohn of Redwood City collected a pair of these birds which had been seen about the town on several occasions, probably the same individuals, as none have been seen since that date. The first appearance of the species was in the fall of the previous year, when two or three were seen. In reply to a letter of mine, Mr. Littlejohn writes: "I too thought the swifts had been living in a chimney, and as I had never seen a chimney swift I thought these might be a pair of them that had found their way out to California. When they were taken they had a strong smoky smell, which they still retain in a less degree. I think the odor was too strong to come from any charred tree, as you suggested, and it reminded me strongly of the smell of an Aleut's hut in Alaska. The female was probably not nesting at the time."

Vaux's swift is an irregular summer resident of Sebastopol according to Mr. F. H. Holmes. W. E. BRYANT.

NOTE ON THE NESTING OF SAMUEL'S SONG SPARROW. At Redwood City as at Haywards, Samuel's song sparrow is confined during the breeding season to the salt marsh, where it begins nesting early in March and has its young reared before the high tides in the latter part of May or first of June would interfere. This season I found them with young in the latter part of June in the woods and at the base of the mountains

about five miles from the marsh, which led me to believe that there, in limited numbers at least, they reared a second brood which they ordinarily could not do on the marsh for the reason mentioned above. C. LITTLEJOHN.

MONGOLIAN PHEASANTS OF Oregon.

The birds (Pasianus torquatus?) were introduced into the country by Hon. O. N. Denny, U. S. Consul-General at Shanghai, China, in 1882. There were something less than sixty birds, and they were turned out on an island in the Willamette River, but have since been scattered around in different localities. Mr. Denny also introduced the Golden Pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) which I think have died out. An act to protect them was passed on October 24, 1882, and has since been renewed and is still in force, although almost a dead letter now.

The pheasants thrive best in the southern counties. They are not more destructive to crops than any other game birds. BERNARD J. BRETHERTON.

A MIGRATION OF BONAPARTE'S GULL.

On May 11, 1889, I observed several flocks of Bonaparte's gull (Larus philadelphia) flying down this (Pajaro) valley, westward toward the ocean, and they flew every night till the first of June. They commenced flying about seven o'clock, if foggy, or half-past seven if clear, and would fly till dark. The flocks had from five to fifty or more birds in each. Some nights flock after flock would go by and then again four or five flocks would be all I could count in an evening. The first flocks seemed to be old birds with black heads, and a few days later all the birds shot were in young or winter plumage. The stomach of one of the birds which I shot contained a piece of gravel and what looked like parts of black insects. Later I examined another which was full of whitish worms about three-fourths of an inch long and as large as a number fourteen wire.

I do not know why the birds should come down this valley or where they came from, but suppose they were migrating and had come from the San Joaquin River. J. R. CHALKER.

WILSON'S PHALAROPE BREEDING IN CALIFORNIA. Yesterday [June 16, 1889] I was at the south end of Lake Tahoe and waded the swamp. I found a phalarope's nest but the eggs were hatching. An egg which was pipped looked almost exactly like a spotted sandpiper's egg-I could not have told the difference. The young, which were two in number, were quite dark buff with a black stripe from the top of the head to the tail, a small black stripe where the tail should be, three black dots on each side of the body and a black dot on each wing and side of head. The legs must have been two inches long and the feet nearly an inch, the latter as near as I can remember were of a led color; the bill was about half an inch long. The old ones came quite close to me, flying about and uttering that peculiar quack of theirs. WALTER D. BLISS.

THE BOHEMIAN WAXWING IN CALIFORNIA.

The only record of the occurrence of the Bohemian waxwing (Ampelis garrulus) in this State, I believe, is that of a straggler taken by Dr. Cooper at Fort Mohave on January 10, about twenty-three years ago. The bird is probably only a winter visitant and the lack of winter observations in the high Sierra accounts for it not being better known.

The Academy of Sciences has six specimens which were sent in the flesh from Susanville by Mr. T. B. Sanders. Two were collected on February 2, 1892, and the other four on February 17. W. E. BRYANT.

A MESQUITE TINEID WHICH CONSTRUCTS A BAGLIKE CASE FROM THE LEAVES.

BY C. H. TYLER TOWNSEND.

On May 15, 1891, I found two case-worms on mesquite (Prosopis juliflora), on the mesa to the east of Las Cruces, New Mexico. The larger case measured over 20 mm. in length. On May 31, 1891, the mesquite bushes on the mesa, for a mile to the east of town, were well stocked with the cases of this larva, the majority of the bushes having numbers on them. On May 13 1892, they were again observed to be very plentiful on the mesquite in the same locality. A moderately small and rather

slender black and yellow hornet was found on this date pulling one of the larvæ out of its case.

The cases of this species are constructed of little leaflets of the mesquite, fastened together longitudinally with silk into an irregular, more or less tubular bag-like case, so as to protect the larva inside. The leaflets which compose the case are always more or less eaten along the midrib, but not entirely through. The cases bear considerable resemblance to those of Psyche confederata. Hanging perpendicularly from the leaves while the larvæ are feeding, they give the mesquite bushes the appearance of being hung with miniature bag. worms.

Some of the larvæ in their cases were sent to Dr. Packard. They reached him as pupæ. From one of these an imago appeared, which Dr. Packard wrote me was "an unknown tineid." I am unable therefore to suggest the genus to which it belongs.

Description of larva. Length, 9 to 12 mm.; width anteriorly, nearly 1 to 11⁄2 mm. White; head black, somewhat polished, with a slight reddish area on each side dorsad of eyes; prothoracic segment with dorsum brownish black, except a median longitudinal whitish dividing line. Consisting of thirteen segments; appearing from above as though possessing two extra ones, since the two terminal segments each bear a transverse suture or wrinkle on dorsum. Head and prothorax about equal in width; third segment distinctly wider, segments 4 to 6 nearly same width as 3, 7 and 8 very gradually narrowing, 9 to II about or hardly as wide as 8, 12 and 13 gradually narrowing from 11, 13th segment a little more than one-third width of 3d. Head usually not retracted, a little wider than long; prothoracic and third segments a little shorter than head, 4 about as long as head, 5 slightly longer, 6 and 9 to 11 a little longer than 5; 7, 8, 12 and 13 about as long as 5. Head and prothorax chitinous, rest fleshy. Head subhemispherical, convex dorsally, with a few fine hairs on anterior border, and several on dorsum; all the other segments with a number of hairs (about ten) arising from minute papillæ, four usually being dorsal, the others lateral and ventral. Eyes consisting of six small but prominent bead-like glassy

white simple eyes, each with a minute pupil-like black dot; four arranged in nearly a semi-circle, with the exterior .or convex side dorsad; the other two situated ventrad of the front one in the semi-circle, one anterior to the other. Labrum rather deeply notched anteriorly, light fulvous; adjoining border of clypeus narrowly concolorous. Antennæ sunken in a small excavation anterior to eyes, apparently two-jointed, joints about equal in length, second hardly narrower and terminated with a style-like hair. Mandibles rather stout, subquadrate in outline, flattened, faintly four-notched, therefore faintly serrate with four or five teeth. Maxillæ and labium whitish; maxillary palpi apparently two-jointed, basal joint stouter, terminal joint more elongate and slender. Three pairs of four-jointed true legs on the thoracic segments, terminated by a brownish chitinous claw. Five pairs of prolegs, on joints 7 to 10, and 13, the anal pair stouter, fleshier, and somewhat longer.

Described from two alcoholic specimens, perhaps not fully grown, taken from cases May 13 and 15. Color of head and body noted in life. The length of the segments is drawn from the better preserved specimen. The proportions are slightly different in the other.

BIRDS OF SAN PEDRO MARTIR, LOWER CALIFORNIA.

BY A. W. ANTHONY.

Mr. W. E. Bryant's excellent Catalogue of the Birds of Lower California has left but little to record from the northern part of that peninsula, but the notes furnished by the present writer were necessarily very fragmentary owing to the collections as well as many notes being inaccessible at the time. It is to correct this deficiency and at the same time record the observations of a trip through that region the past season that the present paper is offered. The expedition crossed the national boundary at Tia Juana, fifteen miles from San Diego, on April 17, 1893, and proceeded by easy stages to the western base of San Pedro Martir by way of Ensenada and Colnett. The first benches of the mountain were not reached until May 5