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 228 THE CONDOR Vol. XVII1 bird which distinguishes it trom its relatives in the same genus. Where the character is one of habit or pertains to its notes and song the present participle is the form the adjective takes. Thus we have Laughing Gull, Cackling Goose, Whooping and Whist- ling Swans, Whooping Crane, Ant-eating Woodpecker, Worm-eating Warbler, Warbling Vireo, and Mourning Warbler. Departures from this practice occur in such names as Melodious Grassquit, Clapper Rail and Trumpeter Swan, but these forms seem permis- sible. ' There are two names, however, which are very much off color, Screech Owl and the Song Sparrow. It seems that, aside from the grammatical error committed, the raore prevalent practice should have dictated that these names be Screechir. g Owl and Sing- ing Sparrow. Screech Owl and Song Sparrow seem good enough names through long usage, but witness how ludicrous the above list of birds would appear were we to change their names to aree with the form expressed in the case of the owl and the sparrow. We would have Laugh Gull, Cackle Goose, Whoop and Whistle Swans, Whoop Crane, Warble Vireo, Mourn Warbler, Melody Grassquit, Clap Rail and Trumpet Swan! Nouns are used as adjectives, but the meaning is totally different from that in which the present participial form is used. Thus, where we have cow-barn, tire-rack, shot-gun or iron knife the meaning is a barn for a cow, a rack for tires, a gun for shot, and a knife cf iron; simply a phrase shortened into two nouns, one of which is used as an adjective. The meaning of Screech Owl and Song Sparrow is obviously an owl which screeches and a sparrow which sings, and not an owl for screeches nor a sparrow for or of song. So when We get around to doing any changing o names let us set these right before the Gull, Swan and Goose laugh, whoop and cackle at the poor little ovl and sparrow!-- J. R. PEUBERTO, COltOn, California. Are there Two Forms of the Bryant Marsh Sparrow in San Francisco County?- Joseph Mailliard's note on the Bryant Marsh Sparrow, in a recent issue of THE CON- DOR suggests a solution to what has been a puzzling problem to me for some time. I have found the Bryant Marsh Sparrow breeding on the Islais Marsh, south of the Po- trero district. But there are other birds apparently of this species, averaging somewhat lighter, however, found resident in the Presidio, on the Ingleside Golf Links, and high up the slopes 6f Twin Peaks. I have noted them many times during the breeding season at the two last named stations. Most of the books speak of this sparrow as though it were found nowhere else than on the salicornia marshes near sea level. It is my opinion that there is an upland form of Passerculus sandwichensis bryanti which verges toward P.s. alaudinus, and that it ranges from Humboldt County south at least to the Transition area of San Francisco County. I may add that I noted this same light-color Bryant Marsh Sparrow last July on the uplands of western Sonoma County some miles from the sea.--W. A SqUXRES, San Francisco, California. Caspian Tern in the San Joaquin Valley.--At the time of the appearance of the Sel> tember (1916) number of THE CONDOR, I had what appeared to be in newspaper parlance a "scoop" on the Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia) in the way of a late summer, or early fall interior record, and had a short article upon this subject scrolled out, waiting only the disappearance of this species from the scene before finishing it up and sending it in to the Editor. But meanwhile the above-mentioned number of our journal came out con- tining John G. Tyler's Suppl.ementary List of Birds of the Fresno District, in which there are several records of this species. However, as Grinnell's Distributional List of the Birds of California gives this bird as a "Rather rare winter visitant and migrant, both coastwise and in the interior", with a. few records following, most of which are winter with only two spring and no fall records, it should be worthy of note that several individuals have been paying a prolonged visit to the Rancho Dos Rios, near the mouth of the Tuolumne River, Stanislaus Couhty, as many as a dozen having been seen at one time and two specimens taken for positive identification. It happened this summer that some seepage water.was left on our ranch in a de- pressed piece of ground several acres in extent, and the resulting shallow ponds proved very attractive to several species of aquatic birds. Among these the Caspian Tern chose