NORTHWESTERN MEXICO. 273 



seems to be nothing more or less tliau Lanius lahtora, to which species we have accordingly 

 referred it. Whether the identical specimen described really came from the fur conutries 

 as stated, can only be determined by further investigation in the locality whence the type 

 specimen is said to have come ; and this question will, doubtless, be set at rest some day by 

 the American ornithologists. It seems possible to us that the shi'ike in question may have 

 come from some other locality altogether, or it may be a straggler from Northern Siberia 

 into Northwestern America." 



Lanius lahtora was first described from the East Indies, but appears to have a wide 

 range, being found to the west in Northern Africa and to the north as far as Siberia. 

 Whether introduced into the United States fauna erroneously or really obtained in the fur 

 countries, is a question of much interest, which may possibly be settled by the investigations 

 now in progress in Alaska, by Messrs. DaU and Elliott. 



Fam. Ampelid^. 



51. Ptilogonis cinereus Sw. 

 Sierra Madre near Colima, Xantus. 



62. Myiadestes obscurus Lafr. 



" " Proc. Bost. Soc. of N. H., xiv., p. 277. 



Tonila, Jalisco, Xantus ; Tres Marias, Grayson. 



" The Hilgaro, as the Mexicans call it, is their nightingale ; next to the mocking bird it is the favorite 

 caged songster in that land where birds of every hue and song are found, and where the sweetest singers are 

 sought for and caged to enliven the monotonous hours of some fair senorita of ' La casa bianco,' or ' La casa 

 grande.' 



" The notes of this bird, when once heard, can never be mistaken for those of any other; they are peculiar 

 and approach nearer to the tunes of a musical box than perhaps do those of any other known species. I have 

 listened for hours to its exceedingly varied notes, both in the woods and when caged, and never became 

 weary of its strange, but melodious song. 



" This species inhabits the mountainous regions where the woods are the largest and most dense. I have 

 never met with one in the low lands. At a place called the 'Barranca,' between Tepic and Guadalajara, I 

 found them quite common but very shy. Its food consists mainly of insects and berries, but in cages it is fed 

 upon 'masa', Indian corn made into dough and strongly seasoned with Chili peppers; various kinds of fi-uit 

 are also given it." 



Fam. Tanagrid^. 



53. Miphonia affinis (Less.). 

 Mazatlan, Bischoff ; Sierra Madre, Xantus. 



54. Pyranga cestiva var. cooperi Ridgeway. 



" " Finsch, Abh. nat. Ver. zu Bremen, 1870, p. 338. 



Mazatlan, Grayson. 



"This species makes its appearance here during the winter months. I have seen it late in the spring, but 

 not in the summer. Not common." 



UEUOntS BOST. soc. NAT. HIST. VOL. H. 



