The Gray Vireo in Los Angeles County, California
The Gray Vireo in Los Angeles County, California
On May 31, 1921, I discovered a Gray Vireo (Virgo wicinior) in Mint Canyon, twelve miles from Saugus, California. So far as I am able to learn, this species has not previously been recorded west of the Cajon Pass region, which is some fifty miles east of Saugus. The bird was not taken, but it was studied for three hours under favorable conditions. Only the one bird was seen, presumably the male, as it was in full song. It had established a station in the chamisal among typical “gray vireo conditions”. From this station it was driven again and again only to return to the same point each time. Prolonged search failed to reveal the nest although it seemed certain that one must be located within a short distance. Identification was based upon song, the ashy gray color, and persistence in plant association all made more or less familiar through previous acquaintance in Arizona and in the Cajon Pass Country.
Loye Miller
Southem Branch, University of California, Los Angeles, September 19, 1921
