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September, i9o2. ] THE undertake to stand, after thirty-five years of training, where Cassin stood at his death?" The all-worthy time-hon- ored quartette has been rudely broken. Now only a triangle, Lawrence. Brew- er and Baird, remains of the last gener- ation ot American ornithologists. Who sholl lead opinion when they too are gathered to their fathers? A higher trust than we perhays appreciate, is laid upon the few of us of this later day who pay devotion to the beautiful study of ornitholoay. It is no less than the keeping bright and untarnished, C()NDOR xo 7 and transmitting to our successors, the name and fame of the science that has absorbed such minds as those of Wilson, Nuttall, Audubon, Bonaparte and Cos- sin. May we prove worthy servitors, guarding with jealous care our trust, watchful that the vestal fires shall ever burn at the shrine where we worship with a clear and steady flame. Ever yours, faithfully, ELLIOTT COUES. DR. J. CJ. COOPER, Acad. Nat. Sciences, San Francisco, Cata. Some Observations on the Rufous-crowned Sparrow. BY C. BARLOV7. HOSE who go afield after the first glories of spring have vanished, when the foxtail along the road- side and the short gra.-s on the hills have taken on an uninviting appear- ance, have doubtless noticed that most of the birds have settled along the water courses, and that save for an oc- casional kingbird, lark sparrow and the like the parched hills appear deserted. Yet my subject deals with a small, rather steep hillside, where from May to September the heat dances dizzily over the thin sage growth and where life to most of us would be intolerable. Here a small colony of rufous-crowned sparrows (.4imophila ruJ?ceps) have con- tentedly established themselves, and they lead an altogether busy life search- ing along the old stone wall which sep- arates the pasture from the road. con- siderable travel passes along the road but it seems in nowise to disturb them and they are really a sociable colony. How long the birds have frequented this sparsely-covered hill I do not know, but they were there to my kn?w- ledge to ?896 and perhaps have been there for decades. This particular hill possesses a decidedly scraggly growth of sage, and ?vhy it was chosen in pre- ference to some heavily covered hill which might afford secure protection, is best known to the birds themselves. Perhaps the stone wall mentioned and the adjacent road afford a generous food supply. It should be mentioned also that a small country schoolhouse lies just across the road, so, withal, this par- ticular band of Aimophila cannot be termed as exclusive as we should ex- pect individuals of this genus to be. The population of this colony can only be speculated upon. A small set ies including a number of juveniles was collected here by Mr_ Grinnell and my- self in September, ?9o?. To be exact some eighteen specimens were taken within an area of two or three acres, and some interesting plumages were rep- resented. Whether there had been an influx of birds from the surrounding hills or not [ do not know, but on the same day other seemingly inviting sage hills seemed not to harbor a single spar- row. Thus I am inclined to believe that they are not uniformly distributed over this range of hills, even in the most inviting and suitable territory. PUBLISHt?D DATA. We are indebted .to Mr. William Brewster for the first published account of the nidification of the rufous-crowned sparrow. In the ]3ullelin of the ZVullall Ornithological Club ([[, p. 37, x877) un- der the caption 'Two Undescribed