Notes from San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties
Notes from San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties
The paucity of California records of the Black Pigeon Hawk, Falco columbarius suckleyi, warrants the recording of two specimens from Santa Barbara County that are now in the collections of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. One is an immature male taken by W. G. Abbott on April 6, 1932, in the city of Santa Barbara (no. 1863) ; the other a female taken in Montecito, about four miles east of Santa Barbara on January 25,194O (no. 3757). The latter specimen was observed chasing small birds through the trees by Mr. Hugh P. Dearing. When dissected, the stomach contained a few feathers and the tarsus and toes of Passerculus sanulwichensis subsp.
On July 19, 1939, Mr. W. H. James reported a Band-tailed Pigeon (Columba fasciata fasciata) nesting on the William R. Dickinson estate in Hope Ranch Park, which is about three and one-half miles west of Santa Barbara. The writer and an assistant immediately went to examine the nest. It was situated in a live oak. The tree was a very large one and the nest was about forty-five feet from the ground. It contained a young bird approximately two days old. Several days later, this nest was again visited, but the young bird had been destroyed, part of a wing still being in the nest.
A male Western White-winged Dove (Melopelia asiatica mearnsi) was taken on October 19, 1939, at Dune Lakes near Oceano, San Luis Obispo County. Although this species occurs along the Colorado River in the extreme southern part of the state, its presence so far north is rare. The specimen is no. 3740 in the collection of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.
Although the Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) has been recorded a number of times from California, it is uncommon enough to be mentioned. An immature male was taken on October 26, 1939, at Dune Lakes, San Luis Obiipo County. The specimen is now no. 3743 in the collection of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.
Egmont Z. Rett
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, California, July 8, 1940
