IX. The Birds of Western and Northwestern Mexico, based upon Collections 

 MADE BY Col. a. J. Grayson, Capt. J. X^ntus and Ferd. Bischoff, now in 

 the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, at Washington, D.C. By Geo. 

 N. Lawrence. 



± HE subjoined catalogue is the result of an examination of several collections of birds, 

 made in Western and Northwestern Mexico within the past few years, and sent to the 

 Smithsonian Institution for determination. 



The largest and most valuable were made by Col. Grayson, principally in the vicinity of 

 Mazatlan, where he resided, from which place, however, he diverged in several directions ; 

 the large number of species obtained by him give evidence of his great perseverance and 

 devotion to the cause he had espoused. The next in importance are the collections of Capt. 

 Xantus, made farther to the south, in the regions of Colima and Manzanilla. Mr. Bischoff 

 collected only near Mazatlan. A few specimens were sent by Dr. Palmer from Guyamas, 

 in the southern part of Sonora. There are no specimens from north of this last point, the 

 extreme northwestern portion of Mexico is, in fact, a " terra incognita," zoologically 

 speaking. 



All these collections were submitted to me, for the purpose of giving a catalogue of them, 

 by the officers of the Smithsonian Institution, who at the • same time kindly placed in my 

 hands the various notes and journals of Col. Grayson, together with very full biographies 

 by him of many species of birds, from which I was authorized to make such extracts as I 

 thought would add to the interest of the catalogue. 



These biographies are exceedingly graphic and of groat value, as they elucidate the 

 economy of many species, of which comparatively but little was heretofore known ; they 

 show him to have been an indefatigable and close observer of the habits of birds. As a 

 field naturalist he should take rank with Audubon. The biographies, although of great 

 interest, are too extended to be copied at length, as the limit of this paper admits only of 

 partial extracts. They are accompanied by one hundred and fifty plates of Mexican birds, of 

 life size, faitlifuUy drawn and colored. It was the intention of Col. Grayson to prepare full 

 histories of aU the species of birds of Western Mexico, together with characteristic draw- 

 ings, for the purpose of ijublication at some future time, but unfortunately the completion 

 of this design was prevented by his untimely death. 



Although the list of species is quite large for a local fiuna. Col. Grayson expected to add 

 many to it, as he wrote in April, 1869, just prior to his unfortunate visit to the Isabel 

 Islands, as follows : " But the field is not yet exhausted ; before the end of this year I hope 

 to be al^le to add many more species, especially from the region of the Sierra Madres 

 Mountains in these latitudes, and which I have not yet explored." 



MEMOIRS BOST. BOO. NAT. HIST. VOL. II. 67 



