The Condor/Volume 1/Number 2/Early Bird Arrivals for 1899
Early Bird Arrivals for 1899. Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina.) Observed Dec. 3, 1898. I thought this a rather unusual date to see a number of Swallows which I took to be this species, flying about in a violent rain and windstorm at Point Reyes Station, Cal.
Mountain Bluebird (Sialia arctica.). Feb. 5, 1899. At Pinole, Contra Costa Co., Cal. I met with a large flock of these birds scattered all through a small valley of freshly-plowed ground. They were there by hundreds and any number could have been secured. When met with they were feeding in precisely the manner of a Sparrow Hawk; they would pause fluttering in one spot, suddenly swooping down on some insect and immediately resume another position as before, always facing a strong wind which was blowing at the time.T. E. Slevin, San Francisco, Cal.