38 THE CONDOR VoL XX area, are heavily timbered with pecan, hackberry, walnut, elm, oaks, and Vari- ous forms of underbrush. The soil of the eastern and northeastern portions of the county varies from sand to a heavy loam. Mesquite and oaks thrive equally well, the former reaching a size which is not attained elsewhere in this county. Birds which are fairly common in the hilly section are rarely found .in the mesquite area, this being especially true during the nesting season. The reverse of this statement is true as regards those species found in the chaparral.and mesquite area. In fact this appears to be the meeting ,and overlapping point of the various breeding ranges. To appreciate this fully, one 'has to collect a sea- son or two in order to become familiar with the various birds and their pre- ferred localities. While this portion of Texas has long been ..looked upon as .t?ickly popu- lated with Raptores, our observations point to exactly the opposite. Of the birds of prey, the larger hawks are suffering the most rapid decline; the owls are seemingly holding their own with more success,-which is ..perhaps due to their nocturnal habits and the fact that they are found oniy in the heaviest timber. We note no decline in either the Black or Turkey vultures, as they are plentiful over the entire county, and not persecuted by gunners as are the hawks and owls. The notes and material used in compiling this list were taken during the breeding seasons of 1912, 1913, 1914,.1915 and 1916. As'our time has ever been limited, we have not had sufficient opportunity to closely study some species which are to be found in the more remote portions of the county. This is espe- cially true of the warblers and other small species which inhab'it the' dense cedar brakes. Every precaution has been taken in identifyi?lg all Of ou? mate- rial, and no species is admitted to this list of which we have the slightest doubt as to its identity. As the reader will note, the majority of our water birds have been observed at Mitchell's Lake. This body of water, covering some t?velve hundred acres, lies in the chaparral area of the county, and into it the sewers of San Antonio empty. As the lake is controlled by a local hunting club, the public at large has little access to it, and therefore the birds are not disturbed during their nesting season. Its dense patches of reeds,. thickets of willows and.other nat- ural attractions, offer ideal nesting sites, advantage of which is being taken by an increasing number of birds and species each year. This list has been compiled through our own personal efforts, and believ- ing that records exist of birds nesting here of which we have no data, we will appreciate any information along these lines, as we are anxious to possess as pearly as possible a complete list of the breeding birds of Bexar County. Colymbus nlgricollis callfornicus. American Eared Grebe. This species is found ?nly at Mitchell's Lake, where a few pairs nest each season, placing their floating nests in some sheltered nook where they will not .be destroyed by the wind or water. They nest in June and July. Colymbus dominicus brachypterus. Mexican Grebe. Five nests located in the season of 1916 form our only records of this species. It nests only at Mitchell's Lake, from the latte? part of June through July. Anhinga anhinga. Anhinga. At Mitchell's Lake a small colony of this. species has grown from five pairs of birds in 1913 to about fiftee? pairs in 1916. They breed ?rom the middl? of May through June. Querquedula cyanoptera. Cinnamon Teal. We have observed a few broods of young of this species on Mitchell's Lake, Spatula clypeata. Sheyeller. Young of this species accompanied by the old re-
