The Vermilion Flycatcher in the Central Mohave Desert
The Vermilion Flycatcher in the Central Mohave Desert.-Two miles above Camp Cady in eastern San Bernardino County water rises in the bed of the Mohave River and continues as a perennial stream until it reaches a point two miles below the old fort site. In the moist bottoms along this small meandering stream is a thick growth of honey mesquite, screw bean, large cottonwoods and tall-trunked willows. At the time of a recent visit (May 2, 1947) to the Camp Cady Ranch, which is situated in the midst of this desert verdure, I had opportunity to observe a small “colony” of Vermilion Flycatchers (PyrocephaEus rubinus). Mr. Lee Smith who ‘resides at the ranch tells me that there are at least three pairs of these birds which to his knowledge have been nesting there for a number of years. Since Camp Cady is at least a hundred miles from known breeding habitats of this bird in the Colorado River bottoms and at the Salton Sea, Camp Cady marks the site of another of those interesting “island habitats” one sometimes finds in desert oases.-EDMUND C. JAEGER, Riverside College, Riverside, California, May 15,1947.
