Interesting Records from the San Joaquin Valley Region
Interesting Records from the San Joaquin Valley Region
Costa Hummingbird. Calypte costae. On several occasions in the early spring months while collecting in the arid hills bordering the San Joaquin Valley at a point about due west from Dos Palos, I have found hummingbirds’ nests of the previous season’s use, built on branches of sage bushes overhanging dry gullies. Those examined have ali been unmistakable nests of the Costa Hummingbird and quite typical in both situation and construction. In fact, they differ in no way from nests of this species which I collected in Ventura County in 1916. From this evidence it would seem safe to extend the known breeding range of this species northward along the east slope of these hills nearly to the 37th Parallel.
Hammond Flycatcher. Empidonax hammondi. An unseasonable record for this species is that of a male in bright plumage taken in the bottom lands of the Merced River near Livingston, Merced County, on December 20, 1915. The bird was frequenting the inclining trunks of some large, old willows in a rather damp locality. It was active and strong on the wing and no trace of any injury could be found while the skin was being made up. That this Flycatcher had been able to secure an abundance of food was very evident as the skin was reeking with fat.
Dusky Warbler. Vermivora celata sordida. On January 8, 1919, I noticed three Warblers which looked like rather dark examples of Zutescens. They were frequenting some weeds along a drainage canal near Atwater, Merced County. On the 11th of the same month I made a hurried trip to the Merced River near Irwin City, and again encountered three of these birds after special search. The presence of lutescens itself would have been interesting at this date but I was convinced that the birds previously seen were sordida, and the single specimen taken has been so identified by Mr. H. S. Swarth. This species evidently wintered in some numbers in the San Joaquin Valley during the winter of 1918-19.
John G. Tyler
Turlock, California, June 30, 1920
