On the morning of 17 April 1972 an adult male Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) was observed on a feeder at the University of California’s Sagehen Creek Field Station, approximately 8 miles northwest of Truckee, California. The bird was seen on the feeder or in nearby trees several times during the day. It was collected on 18 April and stored in a freezer at the research station pending preparation as a specimen. The Painted Bunting was rather wary and flew out of sight into nearby pine trees several times when I attempted to approach within collecting range. After a brief period, approximately 30 minutes, the bird would return to the feeder or vicinity. On the fourth attempt I was able to approach close enough to collect the Painted Bunting. The bird was associating with Mountain Chickadees (Parus gambeli) that were using the feeder. To my knowledge this is the first record of a Painted Bunting occurring in northeastern California. The Painted Bunting is listed as irregular, accidental, or casual in California (McCaskie et al., 1970).