The mountains of San Diego County have never been the object of much ornithological study. The birds of other nearby ranges in southern California have been reported on by Grinnell (1908, San Bernardino Mts.), Grinnell and Swarth (1913, San Jacinto and Santa Rosa mts.), and Pequegnat (1945, Santa Ana Mts.). Information from the San Diego County mountains has been published only in a few brief notes or in comprehensive regional summaries (Cooper 1874, Emerson 1887, Belding 1890, McGregor 1899, Willett 1933, Grinnell and Miller 1944, Sams and Stott 1959). The highest peak in the county, isolated Hot Springs Mountain, has apparently not been previously visited by an ornithologist. Nothing relating to the birds of this area has been published, and no specimens collected there have been preserved in the San Diego Natural History Museum or in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley. I made three visits to Hot Springs Mountain during June and July 1980. The observations here reported are an attempt to fill this gap in our knowledge of California bird distribution.