Among the many counties in this large state, Marin county occupies a somewhat unique position, its situation being similar to only one other. This is San Fran- cisco county, which being very small, covering not much more than tire city lim- its, cuts but little figure ornithologically. Marin itself is one of the smallest 'counties in the state, yet it has a considerable area, being somewhat in the shape af a diamond with the longer diagonal about forty-three miles and the shorter thirty. The peculiarity of its position lies in the fact that on three sides of the diamond is salt water. Three-fourths of its boundary is coast line, the actual contour of the shore probably making it more than five-sixths of the total. The western and south-western sides are washed by the Pacific Ocean while San Francisco Bay limits the eastern. As its short northern side is not near any large valley or river it is practically cut off from any direct natural line of north and south mi- gration. All birds flying into the county from the south have to cross San Fran- cisco Bay, while those migrating south must cross it when they leave. In con- sequence of this those birds which do not make long, strong flights seem only to wander in from their regular routes more in the manner of stragglers than of regular migrants. For instance, tire big flight of Louisiana Tanagers in r896 which was notable throughout the state, only touched this county to a slight extent, but very few birds having been noticed. Yet many of the regular immigrants must cross the bay, for at the period of the first spring migrations, they are seen in the southern part, where it is warmer, sometimes two or three weeks before they arrive in the interior. These first arrivals appai'ently come over from San Francisco or Ala- meda county. It is possible that sonre birds, like the Helminlhophi/a c. lutescerts for instance, may come in from Sonoma county on the north and follow the warmer bay shore until they reach the southern extremity of Marin county be- fore ventu['ing into the interior, but there are no observers in the right spots to determine this. The county is for the most part exceedingly hilly, almost mountainous, and a -large proportion of its area is cc, vered with either timber or brash. Of the tim- bered areas there are three divisions; the redwood, which is intermingled with and runs into fir, bay, madtone etc.; the pine and the oak regions. Each has a bird life peculiar to itself, yet there are certain birds common to all. The red- wood region and innnediate vicinity contains by far the majority of (l,anocilta s. ./?ontalis, Certhia f. occidentalis and ,4nor/brita h. pacificus for instance. The pine region harbors the Sitta p.lg'ma, a ahnost exclusively, while the oak region, which is like parts of Sonoma county and in fact is an extension of that county's oak region, is inhabited by the Sitta c. aculeata, ]øarus iJwrnatus etc. The brushy areas are also of several distinct kinds, but these merge into one another more or less, and with the exception of perhaps the sage, cyanothus and salmon berry regions, need not be considered as having peculiar avifauna. And indeed these three onlS- seem to be attractive to certain birds at certain seasons. For example, if that occasional winter visitant, the Passerella i. megark,nch,t, is here at all it is only found on the tops of the hills among the cyanothus. Again in the spring the ,4imophila rtficeps is found and probably breeds in the sage t)rush, and yet in late summer may be observed among poison oak bushes and black- berry vines on grassy hillsides far away from the sage. The temperature, especially in winter, varies a great deal in different parts of the county, and the habits of the birds vary accordingly. The bay sirore enjoys a much more equable winter temperature than the interior, in consequence of which House Finches and Hummingbirds may be found all winter in San Ra- fael, which is on the edge of a salt water nmrsh, while never found during l)e- cember and January a few miles further inland, where the mercury has a way of tumbling down to 6 ø or x8 ø on any clear morning during those months. The ocean side of the county has an equable temperature also, but is wind swept and bleak, and is very similar to that portion of San Francisco county be- tween the city and the ocean shore, having large areas of sand and lupines, which are the breeding homes of Zonotrichia l. gainbell. Quite a stretch of the northern-most portion of the ocean side however, is open grass land and consists of low rolling hills, with but little timber or brush. This portion has not been closely observed to my knowledge and may contain some forms unfamiliar to me. The following list of Land Birds is made up from the obserYations of many years made by my brother and myself, with occasional aid from C. A. Allen of this place. This sketch of the county is only inte. nded to give a sort of general idea of its characteristics in relation to its avifauna, enabling one to arrive at a better understanding of the subject. ff LophorO,x calforicus. CALIFORNIA PARTRIDGE. Ccmmon resident. 2 Co[umba.lCasœiata. BAND-TAILED PIGEON. Breeds sparingly; Occasionally very numerous in fall or winter. 3 ,ff. eJtaidura macroura. MOURNING DOVE. Breeds abundantly; sparingly resident in winter. 4 Catharh's aura. ably sparingly. 5 7anus leucurus. record. 6 7 8 9 to TURKEY VULTURE. Common resident. Breeds, prob- WHITE-TAII,ED KITE. Occasional visitor; no breeding (3/4rcus hlldsolilts. MARSH HAWK. Common winter resident. .4ccipi/er velox. SHARP-SHINNED H.WK. Common winter resident. Mccipi/er cooperi. CoopEWs HAWK. Ccmmon winter resident. Mccipiter a. striatulus. WESTERN GOSHAWK. Rare visitor. ]3ttteo b. ca[trts. WESTERN REDTAIL. Common resident. Nests in neigh- borhood of San Geronimo in tall firs and redwoods; other localities in large oaks.   l1/2uteo l. elQgras. RED-BELLIED HAWK. Occasional winter visitant. x2 ,4rchibtteo j'rrtxinets. }tERRUt;INOUS ROUt;I-LEG. Rare. Presumably resident in one or two localities. 3 .dquila cht'S(t'los. GO1.DEN EAGLE. Sparingly resident. 4 Z/cop. analurn. I)t:CK HAWK. Rare resident. A few breed on some of the rugged cliffs on ocean shore. 5 Z?tlcocolumbarius. PIGEOX HAWK. Probably very rare visitant. One shot by myself, but not recovered and consequently identification not confirmed. 6 ]'lco s. dcsertico[us. DESERT SPARROW HAWK. Common resident; quite numerous. 7 /andion h. carolinensis. A5IERICAN OSPREY. Very rare visitant. Three seen at various times at Lake Laguinitas and one taken. 8 Stri.vpratincola. AMERICAN BARN OWI,. Common resident; not numerous. 9 ,4sio a,ilsonianus. AMERICAN LONG-EARED OWL. Resident iu redwood and fir forests. Probably not very abundant. 20 Asio accipitrinvs. SItORT-EARED OwL. Common on salt water marshes in winter and presumably resident. 2 Jeœ-ascops a. benditel. (.ALIFORNIA SCREECH OWL. Very abundant resi- dent. 22 [h/bo vir, ffiniatts subatelieRs (?) WESTERN (?) HORNED OWI,. Ccmmt'n resident; numerous. 23 SpeoO,to c. ky5o.1/2-rea. BmOWINC, OWL. Sparingly resideut iu restricted areas. 24 Glaucidium .'. cal(/rnicum. CALIFORNIA PYGMY OWL. C(nlmen resident; not numerous. 25 Geococo,x cahfornianus. ROAD-RUNNER. Very sparingly resident. 26 ('oœœ1,zts a. occideutalis. CALIFORNIA (2UCKOO. l)oubtful. S(mm reported as having t)en seen at Olema in 898 , but no specimens taken. 27 Cerl'[e a/cl,ot. BELTED KINGFISHER. Common resident; not very numerous. 28 Dr.,obales'v. harrisit'. HARRIS' WOODPECKER. Common resident; not very abundant. 29 Dr. vobatesfi..grairdnerii GAIRDNER'S WOODPECKER. Common resident; rather numerous. 30 Drg,obates nuttlli. UTTALL'S WOODVEC:ER. Exceedingly rare visit- ant in major portion of county, but more numerous near northern boundary. 3 t Sfihyrapicusv. nuthalls. RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER. Very rare visitant. Three specimens taken at San Geronimo; no further record. 32 Sfih, l,rafiictts ruber. RED-BREASTED SAPS['CKER. Common resident in winter. Never very numerous; mostly fenroles. Out of twenty-seven specimens taken by us ill the last four years only five were males. 33 zk/elawrpes.? bairdi. CALtFORSAN WOOm'EC:ER. Common resident. Not very numerous except near northern boundary. 34 :elanerfies torquatus. LEWS' WOODPECKER. Occasional visitant. No breeding record. 35 Colafiles auralus. F,tCtER. We have taken one or two specimens of Co- lafiles in winter that are ahnost typical aEratEs. The cross breeds between aEratEs and caret are comparatively numerous in winter, showing every possible combin- ation. 36 Colafiles cq/Cer. RED-SltAFTED FI,ICKER. Abundantly resident. In winter some specimens approach saDtralior. 37 ?ha[renofitiltts n. caDfornictts. Dr, stoy POOR-WHir,. Sparingly resident in rocky parts of the county. 38 Chaetttra vaxii. VAUX'S SWIF'P. Abundant at times; breeds sparinlgly; probably resident in limited numbers. 39 Ca[,lsbte anna. AN,X-.a'S ttUI.XGmRD. Sparingly resident in winter, bur very numerous in spring and summer. Breeds very extensively through a long season. 4 ø Se[asfihorls rlt. ftq. RUFOUS Ht>,XnNC;BRD. Abundant immigrant in early spring. Breeds sparingly and not very abundant in summer. 4 t Selasfihorusalleni. ALEN'S Ht',INC;BRD. Sparingly (?) resident in winter, but breeds abundantly from February to July. Have taken none in early winter, but have seen some in San Rafael that were apparently of this species. 42 T.l, ranzus verlicalis. ARKANSAS KINGBrRD. Common summer resident. Breeds abundantly. Earlies{ record April 4. 43 ,l'iarchtts cinerascens. ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER. (onunon sumnler resident; not very abundant. Earliest record April rS. 44 Sa?ornis sa_,a. SAY'S PHOEBE. Sparingly winter resident. 45 Sa),orzis ntg'ricans. BLACK PHOEBE. Common residelit; comparatively abundant. ß 46 ContopEs borealis. OLtVE-SDED F/,VCATCHER. Sparingly summer resi- dent in firs and redwoods. Earliest record April 28. 47 Conlofius richardsonii. WESTERN WOOD PEWEE. Abundant summer res- ident. Earliest record April 26. 48 Empidonax dSfficih's. WESTERN F,VCATCtER. Abundant summer resi- dent. Earliest record March 30. 49 Otocoris a. chrysola?nta. MEXCA HORNED I,ARt. Sparingly residelit in certain Iocalitis. 5 ø Cl,anocilla s..fronlalis. Bkt:E-FIONTED JAY. (An intermediate form be- tween s/e/let/and s. frontah's.) Very abundant resident among the fir and redwood forests. 5 Mfihelocoma calfornica. CALiFORniA JAy. Very abundant resident. 52 Corz,tts c. sinttaDts. ASIERICAN RAVEN. Sparingly residelit; scattered pairs inhal)iting certain fixed localities. 53 4orvus americanus (?) AMERICAN (?) CROW. (Seenis to be intermediate between americanus and caurinus.) Common resident; very numerous along the bay shores. 54 t,elaius. calt.'?brnicus. BICOLORED BLACKBIRD. Abundant summer resi- dent. Occasionally seen casually among flocks of Scolecophaus c3,anocthalus dur- ing latter part of winter, and probably sparingly resident in marshes on bay shore. 55 lg-elaius tricolor. TRICOLOED BLAClCBtR). Spring and fall nilgrant; sometimes passing through in great quantities, going north in May and June, and south in September. ome years not observed in fall and but few seen in spring. 56 Sturnella m. nellcola. WESTERN i'[EADOWI,ARK. Common resident; fair- ly abundant. 57 [ctertts bttllocki. BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. Common summer resident. Abund- ant in some parts. Earliest record April 8. 58 Scolecophaus c),anocephalts. BREWER'S BI,:XClCBRt). Very abundant res- ident. 59 Uoccothraustcs v. raoulanus. WESTERN EVENING GROSBEAK. Exceedingly rare visitant. One in collection taken near Olema in November, and has been re- ported as seen on one or two occasions; probably accidental. 60 CarI5odacus p. cal(/ornicns. CALIVORNIA PtRPE FtNC. Common resi- dent; rather abundant. 6t Uarpodacns m..??ontalis. HotsE FIx1/2. Very abundant summer resident, and sparingly in winter in some warmer spots. 6 Lo'ia c. slricklaitd' (?) MEXICAN' (?) CROSSBILL. (Seenis to be intermed- iate between minor aud stricklandi.) Occasional winter visitant. Comes in flocks and does not remain long. 63 Mstra, ffalinust. salicamans. 3/4ILLOXV GOI,DFINCH. Con,mort summer resi- dent in some portions of county; not abundant. 64 4stro. e-alinuspsaltria. ARIC.XN'SAS GOLr)FINCI. Resident; abundant in summer, sparingly in winter. 65 ,4stra.ffalittts /aa'rt'tct'i. LAWRENCE's GOI,I)FINCH. Summer resident; s(me years abundant and other years rare; arrives about May o. 66 b)Sinuspinus. PI,E SISlCI. Resident. Abundant in large flecks in win- ter; scattered in breeding season. 67 ,4mmodramus s. alaudinus. WESTERN SAVANNA SPARROW. Abundant winter resident. 68 tmodramts s. brvattL BRYANT'S IARSH SPARROV. Resident iin mar- shes along San Francisco Bay. 69 ,4mmodramuss. peallidus. WESTERN GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. Spar- ingly summer resident. 7 ¸ ('ho#dcslesA,'. strt.'alt/s. 3.'ESTERN LARK SPARROW. Abundant resident. 7  Zotwtrichia /. ittrrmedia. INTER.MEDIATE SPARROW. Reported by C.A. Allen. We have never taken any in this county. 72 Xottotrichia l.g-ambc/i. GABEL'S SPARROW. Very abundant resident in winter, but in breeding season only found among the lupins of the Point Reyes region. Comes to San Geroniulo, which is about x5 miles from the breeding ground, in September and leaves in end of April. 73 Zonotrirhia coront, ta. G-OLDEN-CROWNED SPARROV. Abundant winter resident. Arrives in September and leaves in April. 74 Spizclla s. ariz'otce. WESTERN CttIt'PIN(; SPARROW. Abundant summer resident. 75 [tnco h. ore.,o'ons. ORE(;OXJt'NCO. Abundant winter resident. Arrive in latter part of September and leave in April. 76 Jnnco h. /hurberi. TIt:nBER'S Jt*NCO. Occasional summer resident. Nest and parent found and given to us, but bird almost destroyed and eggs nearly hatched. Apparently thurberi. Adult and juvenile seen in July and August, but none taken. Presumably thttrbcri. 77 ,4mphis;biza belli. BELI'S SVARROW. Breeds in linfited ntimbers. Abund- ant immigrant in summer after breeding season. In some years sparingly winter resident. 78 .4imophila ruficeps. RUVOt;S-CROWED SVARROW. Summer resident in very limited localities, never abundant. Passes through in August and September migrating south. Occasionally taken in winter. 79 Jrelospizaf. samuelis. SAiU;L'S SONg SPARROW. Common resident. Abundant on marshes. 8o .lfelospizaf..ruttata. RUSTY SONG SVARROW. Winter resident. Never abundant. Arrives in Septenber and October. 8 /relospiza lincolnii. LNCOLN'S SPARROW. Sparingly winter resident. Earliest record September 8. 82 ?assetella i. unalaschcensis. TOWNSEND'S SPARROW. Abundant winter resident. Arrives in September and beginning of October. 83 ?assetella i. megark,ncha. TItCK-BIILED SV.aRROW. Some winters more or less abundant on the summits of brushy ranges. Other years none observed. Usually present only in very cold winters and during the coldest part. In 897 a few taken in September. These were possibly a brood raised by parents that had been partially crippled in the previous winter. 84 Pipi/o m. oregonus. ()REt;ON TOWBEE. Common resident; comparatively abundant. 85 Pipilo./i crissalis. CAIIrORNIAN TOWHEE. Abundant resident. 86 Zamelodia melawct75hala. BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK. Abundant sum- met resident. April 3 earliest record. 87 (_?anospiza amtena. I,AZt;It Bt2TN(;. Abundant summer resident. Our earliest record May 7 (C. A. Allen April =7.) 88 ?irang'a ludoviciana. LOUStANA TANA(;ER. Spring migrant, going north. Generally rare at this time, but some years abundant. Also late sumrner immi- grant, numbers coming into the country when fruit is ripe and remaining during greater part of August and September, mostly birds of the year. 89 firefine s. hesperia. WESTERN I[ARTIN. Sparingly summer resident. 90 ?etrocheh'don htnzfrons. CLIFV SWALLOW. Abundant summer resident. Earliest record March 24. 9 f3rirundo erjYhro, gaster. BARN SWALLOW. Common summer resident. Our earliest record April 9 (C. A. Allen March 3.) 9  Tachvcinela bico/or. TREE SWALLOW. Summer resident. Abundant in white oak rgions. 93 Tachycineta thalassina. VIOLET-GREEN SWAI. r. OW. Abundant spring mi- grant. Sparingly summer resident. 94 Clivico/a rilSaria. BANK SWALLOW. Abundant summer resident in favor- able localities. 95 Slelg'idoteTcv serrilSennis. ROUen-WrithED SWALLOW. Common summer resident. 96 ,4rapelis cedrorum. CEDAR WAXWtN(;. Spring and fall migrant. Never observed in very large quantities. 97 ?haino]Se;bla nilens. PHAtNOPEPLA. Notes heard on one occasion. Never seen. 9 8 ttxlil'lts/. ,txlibl'. CALIFORNIA SIKE. Sparingly resident. 99 t?reogilvus. WARBLING VREO. Abundant summer resident. Earliest record March 28. oo 1.7reo s. cassinii. CASSX's VREO. Rare visitant. One fall record only. ot t7reo ht:lott'. HUTTON'S VtREO. Abundant resident. xo2 ]]e/ntinlhophila c. lulescens. LUTESCENT WARBLER. Abundant summer resident. First observed February xS- xo 3 Jr)etdroica a'slh,a. 1xZELLOW WARBLER. Common summer resident. o 4 Dendroica corotata. MYRTLE WARB,ER. Sparingly winter resident. o5 ])endroica auduboni. AUDUBON'S WARBLER. Abundant winter resident. Arrives about September 25 . o6 Dezdroica irescens. BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER. Very rare fall visitant. Only two records. o 7 Dendroica townsendi. TOWNSEND'S WARBLER. Rare winter visitant. to8 Geolhlfpis to[111iei. MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER. paringly summer resi- dent. Earliest observed April 5. to 9 Geothlfpis t. occidentalis. WESTERN YELLOW-THROAT. Summer resident on the marshes. Rather abundant in favorable localities. to [cteria v. lonicauda. LONG-TAILED CHAT. Rare spring visitant. i H,5'lsotiap. pileolata. PLEOLATED WA}BLER. Abundant summer resi- dent. First observed March 26.  2 Dtthuspezsilvanicus. AMERICAN PIPIT. Abundant winter resident. 3 Cinclus ine_ricats. AERrCAN DIPPI2R. A pair formerly bred near the headwaters of Lagunitas Creek. None seen for.some years. 4 ,'Yfimuspol9Tlottos. MOCKiNGBiRD. One specimen taken by C. A. Allen. No other record.   5 [fariborh?nchts redivivus. CAtFORNtAN THRASHER. Notes heard among thick chaparral, but no record. 6 Xalpizctesobsoletus. ROCK WREN. Very sparingly fall migrant, except on rocky cliffs on (mean shore, where it breeds in limited numbers. I 7 T/rp,omanes b. Spi[lttltS. VIGOR'S WREN. Abundant resident. 8 Trolodg,tes a. parkmazii. PARKAN'S WREN. Common summer resident. Not very abundant. 9 lnrthura h. pac)qcts. WESTERN WINTER WREN. Common winter resi- dent. 20 Cistothors fi. fiaDtdicola. TULL WREN. Common resident of the tule swamps and marshes. 2 Certhia f. occidentalis. CALIFORNIA CREEPER. Common resident. Not abundant. 122 Sitta c. acuh'ata. SLENDER-BILLED NUTHATCH. Rare winter visitant at San Geronimo, but probably resident near Sonoma county line. 23 Silltt catadensis. RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH. Very abtindant in August and September 898, leaving in October. Never recorded before and not seen since. 2 4 Wittap, v,3/4m,a. PYGY NUTHATCH. Sparingly resident in a limited area in Point Reyes district. 12 5 tarzt$ [zol'tt[z:$. PLAIN TITMOUSE. Rare winter visitor at San Geronimo. Probably resident near Sonoma county line. 126 DttYllS '. lCo'ldœ[llS. CALIFORNIA CHICKADEE. Abundant resident. 27 'haza.fasciata. WREN TIT. Abundant resident. 28 ]4valtrifiarts m. calfornictts. CALIFORNIAN BUSH TtT. Abundant resident. 29 ]co't,[lts s. o[it,accTls. WESTERN GOI.DEN-CROWNED KINGLET. Irregular winter visitant. Most numerous in early spring. t3o ]Gfftlt's ca[etdtt[a. RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET. Abundant winter resident. Arrives in end of September. Almost all males. 3  lVolioptila œ. obscrtt. WESTERN GNATCATCHER. Late summer visitant. Sometimes abundant in August. Stays a few weeks on its way south. 32 3[,adesles ta,nsetdii. TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE. Occasional winter visitor on tops o[higher ranges during a very cold season. Never numerous; only re- corded three times. t33 [f,!ocichla ustulata. RUSSET-BACKED THRUSH. Common summer resi- dent. Our earliest record May 7. (C. A. Allen April 23. ) 34 ]r3/4o('ichla aoalaschk. DWARF HERmiT THRUSH. Abundant winter resi- dent. At San Geronimo almost every specimen taken has proved to be a male. Earliest record September 26. 35 ,,erttla Jt. jSrojSinqtta. WESTERN ROBIN. Abundant winter resident. Scarce in occasional dry winters. Usually some arrivals about October 5, but bulk of'arrivals varying with seasons. 36 ]tresfierocichla nrvia. VARtED THRUSH. Abundant winter resident. Bulk of arrivals early- in November. Leaves in April. 37 Xœalia m. ocrideals/is. WESTERN BLUEBIRD. Abundant resident. *"Sttlnmer Resident"--breeds.