:::::::::=Se TWO BIRD-LOVERS IN MEXICO :#::::::::: 



used these curious structures as uests, I could not 

 determine. 



Now and then our old friends the Long-tailed Blue 

 Jays visited our tangle, whereupon we promptly left it, 

 knowing that their shrieks and cries would, for the 

 present, put an end to the bird-study in that vicinity. 

 Once, several of these annoying birds dashed into 

 sight, wild with excitement. Their longest tail-feathers 

 were gone, and in general they presented a hopelessly 

 bedraggled appearance, being apparently in full moult. 

 The object of their persecution was a hawk, one of 

 the finest of the Mexican birds of prey, and by far the 

 most strikingly marked. It is well named the Laugh- 

 ing Falcon, for at times its call is remarkably like the 

 hnman expression of mirth. 



Tlie colouriuii' of the l)ird is a harmonious blendinjj 

 of brown, creamy butt", and white, but the most pro- 

 minent characteristic, visible at a distance, is a broad 

 band of black through tlie face and eyes, bringing 

 instantly to mind tlie markings on the head of a rac- 

 coon. We saw these hawks on the trail to Colima, 

 sailing about, for hours at a time, high overhead. They 

 are gentle birds, and when one was stunned and kept 

 captive for a few days, it soon became tame and took its 

 portion of food from our liands. 



The most beautiful of all the small birds was a bunt- 

 ing. We christened him the Rainbow Bunting, but the 

 books call him the Leclancher Bunting. These little 



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