show these generally hidden colors to great advantage. Although all the ground
thrushes which I have had, perform, I have not seen the Bluebird ($ialia sialis) ...
GeneralNotes
['Auk
œJuly
that I may sit among them while they are going through their strangeantics-it should not be difficult during another seasonto substantiatemy presumption, or otherwise. Certainly an ant is held in the bill for only a short time and another is taken in its place. The whole procedureseemsto be so exciting to the birds and so intense that even enmity is forgotten. I have seen as many as twenty or more birds of a number of species,going through the performanceon a spaceof
only about six squarefeet. Not only is it a mostcomicalsight which will nearly bring tears of laughter to the eyes,but a most beautiful sight, as such birds as thosewhich are highly coloredunder the wings like the Rose-breastedGrosbeaks showthesegenerallyhidden colorsto great advantage. Although all the ground thrusheswhich I have had, perform, I have not seen
the Bluebird ($ialia sialis)do so. They, so far, have been interestedonly in the ants or larvae as food. I keep very few exotics,therefore have not been in a positionto determinewhether or not they too 'ant,' with the exceptionof the Pekin Robin whose actionsare the same as those of our songbirds.
The only birds which I have seen use any other material than ants are the Bronzed Grackles. They went through the identical performancewith chokecherries. Curiouslyenough,althoughI feedlarge quantitiesof this fruit in season, noneof the otherbirdshasusedthemfor thispurposesofar asI know. In a review of this subject,W. L. McAtee (Auk, 55: 98-105, 1938)lists sixteen speciesand six passefinefamilies in which this behaviorhas been noted. M.M.
NiceandJ. ter Pelkwykin "'Anting'by the SongSparrow"(Auk,57: 520-522,1940) add one species and one family. I am able to report this behaviorin three more familiesand sixteenadditionalspecies.New recordsare indicatedby asterisks. The followingis a list of the birdsI haveseen'antirig'in the aviaries: CORVmA•:Blue Jay (½yanocittacristata) *M•MmA•: *Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)
Tvm)mA•:*Robin (Turdusmigratorius),*Wood Thrush (Hylocichlamustelina), *Hermit Thrush (Hylocichlaguttata), *Veery (Hylocichlafuscescens) *BOMBYC•LLn)A•: *Cedar Waxwing (Bornbycillacedrorum) T•Lm)A•: Pekin Robin (Leiothrix lutea) *IcTWmA•: *Baltimore Oriole (Icterusgalbula); *BronzedGrackle (Quiscalus quisculaaeneus) (choke-cherries only) FmNG•LLmA•:*Cardinal (Richmondenacardinalis), *Rose-breastedGrosbeak
(Hedymeles ludovicianus), *IndigoBunting(Passerina cyanea), *EveningGrosbeak (Hesperiphona vespertina), *Fox Sparrow(Passerella iliaca),*Slate-colored Junco (]uncohyemalis), *Harris'sSparrow(Zonotrichia querula),*White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), SongSparrow(Melospiza melodia).--H.R. Ivo•, Erindale, Ontario.
Observations at Guaymas,Sonora,Mexlco.--Thebrief period from April 12 to 16, 1940,wasspentby the writer at MiramarBeach,nearGuaymas, Sonora,Mexico. It was purely a vacationtrip and only superficialnoteson the bird life were kept. However,it appearsthat Sonorarecordsare so comparatively limited that the following observations may be worthy of publication. No specimens were takenand subspecific designations are assumed.
Ornithological highlightof the visit wasa three-hourboat trip from Miramar Beachto Guaymas andreturnin the late afternoon of April 14. Everymemberof
the partywasgreatlyimpressed with the untoldnumbers of waterbirds whichthe rich watersof the Gulf of Californiasupport. It wasliterally "a paradeof the sea
Vol. •81 •94x
GeneralNotes
41 7
birds." Platoonsof California Brown Pelicans (Pelecanusoccidentaliscalifornicus),
in perfect formation,aggregatingthousandsof individuals,skimmedcloseto the boat in both directions.Amusingwere the seemingeffortsof occasional cormorants, which had aligned themselveswith the pelicans,to keep time with the alternate sailing and flapping of their larger companions.Both Farallon Cormorants (Phalacrocoraxauritus albociliatus) and Brandt's Cormorants (Phalacrocorax penicillatus)were observed,sometimes in such numbersthat the soundof their beating wingswasvery noticeable.
The gull family wasrepresented by the Yellow-lootedGull (Larus occidentalis livens),whoseyellowlegswere plainly visibleto the nakedeye, Heermann'sGull (Larus heermanni),which nestson many islandsin the Gulf, and Bonaparte's Gull (Larus philadelphia),which, though far from its nestinggrounds,was the most abundant gull seen. Great flocksof them containedindividualsin all stages of plumage,from the winter phaseto the full black head of the breedingseason. We also saw pearly-backedgulls that were either California Gulls (Larus cali[ornicus)or Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis)--or both, but our notesmake no mention
of terns.
This boat ride marked the writer's first acquaintancewith the Man-o'-war-bird (Fregata raagnificensrothschildO, whose graceful silhouette against the sky was much admired. Its easeand skill in flight were marvelous,even though used for robbing other birds of their catch. ParasiticJaegers(Stercorariusparasiticus)were seen engaged in the same banditry. We scanned the islands that we passedfor possibleMan-o'-war-birds' nests,not then knowing that the nearest-knownbreeding ground of this bird is some250 miles distant, at Santa Margarita Island on the Pacific coastof Lower California. The only speciesthat we saw actually sitting on its nest was the Treganza'sBlue Heron (Ardea herodiastreganzai),which here builds its bulky home of sticks on the precipitous cliffs of the offshore islands. Hundreds of boobies of two kinds, Brewster'sBooby (Sula brewsteri) and Bluelooted Booby (Sula nebouxi), were also to be seen on the ledgesof the islands, but we couldnot actuallydetectany eggsthroughour 8-powerbinoculars,thoughit wasthe proper season.Our boatmeninformedus that on San PedroNolascoIsland, visible about 25 miles away, many seabirdsnested,but that the whitewashedcliffs we were passingwere used chiefly as roosts. The long lines of boobiesin flight, like those of the pelicans,provided perfect examplesof bird formation. When fishing,both pelicansand boobiesplunge headlongfrom a height, a truly inspiring sight when scoresare thus engagedsimultaneously. The commonestduck was the Lesser Scaup (Nyroca a•inis); large flocks were seen in the quiet bays at the base of the towering cliffs, where, with both cliff and duck reflected in the smooth water, they gave almost the appearance of floating in mid-air. In BocochibampoBay, which was the starting and ending point of the trip, was a large and closelymassedflock of Red-breastedMergansers (Mergus serrator). The waterbird list is completed by the Pacific Loon (Gavia arctica pacifica), a few swimming individuals of which were seen--at least they were believed to be of this species. Two landbirdswere observedon the boat ride, Turkey Vultures (Cathartesaura septentrionalis)and Audubon's Caracaras (Polyborus cheriway auduboni), both of which were seeking or eating the fish heads and other offal discardedon the beachesat the entranceto GuaymasHarbor. Near the fish and oysterplants in the city of Guaymaswe saw, on other occasions, a number of Black Vultures (Coragyps atratusatratus);and this is the only placewhere we sawthem.
GeneralNotes
IL'Auk July
Our notes on landbirds seen in the vicinity of Guaymasreveal nothing worthy of record, unlessmention be made of the SonoranParrots (Amazonaalbi[rons saltuensis)which we found in the 'cactusforest' betweenSan Jos• de Guaymas and Empalm•. Here, in a close stand of giant cactus,which was about the last
place where we shouldordinarily have lookedfor parrots,we encounteredseveral of these noisy, handsomebirds. Our attention was divided between them and a pair of solicitousHarris's Hawks (ParabuteounicinctusharrisO,which either were nesting,or about to nest,in the cactusgrove. These rambling remarksmay closewith the mention of a Dickey'sEgret (Di-
chromanassa ru[escens dickeyi)observedfrom the bridgewhich connects Empalm• with Guaymas, and of a Frazar's Oyster-catcher(Haematopuspalliatus [razari) seen in the estuarybehind Miramar Beach. There it shared the companyof several Brewster'sEgrets (Egretta thula brewsteri)throughout our stay.--CL•To• G. ABBott, San Diego Societyo[ Natural History, San Diego, California.
FIFTY-NINTH
STATED
MEETING
OF
THE
A. O. U.
THE Fifty-ninth StatedMeeting of the Union will be held in Denver, Colorado,on September1-4, 1941,followed by two field trips: to the top of Mr. Evans (14,000feet) on Friday; and on the prairiesall day Saturday. There is a goodroad to the top of Mr. Evans,which is the highestplace in the United Statesthat one can reach by automobile. Headquarters will be at the CosmopolitanHotel, Broadway and 18th St., Denver,where the annual banquetwill be held on Wednesday night, September3. All meetingswill be held in the new Phipps Auditorium of the ColoradoMuseum, beginningTuesday morning, September2. The Local Committeeis: Dr. Alfred M. Bailey, Chairman, Fred G. Brandenberg,E. R. Kalmbach,R. J. Niedrach, and C. C. Sperry, to whom further inquiries may be addressed.
