BIRDS OF KANSAS. . 607 



Sp. Char. "Plumage very soft aud lax. Bill about as long as the head. 

 Upper parts brownish graj-, each feather with a central line and (except on the 

 head) transverse bars of dusky, and a small dark brownish spot at the end (seen 

 also on the tips of the secondaries). Kump, sides of the body, and posterior 

 part of the belly and under tail coverts, dull cinnamon, darker above. Rest 

 of under parts dirty white; feathers of throat aud breast with dusky central 

 streaks. Lower tail coverts banded broadly with black. Inner tail feathers 

 like the back, the others with a broad black bar near the end; the tips cinna- 

 mon; the outer on each side alternately banded with this color and black. A 

 dull white line above and behind the eye. Young not marked or banded be- 

 neath." 



stretch of 

 Length. -wing. Wing. Tail. Tarsus. Bill. 



Male 6.00 9.35 2.80 2.25 .80 .70 



Female... 5.60 8.60 2.50 2.00 .78 .65 



Iris brown; bill duskj, under pale at base; legs, feet and 

 claws blackish. 



The natural home of this bleached species is within the canons 

 and on the rocky hillsides of the sterile plains, or bare spots 

 and rocky cliffs of the fertile regions. In their selection of a 

 home, they do not appear to seek or shun the presence of man, 

 for I have found them in wild, barren regions, and about the 

 adobe houses in the Mexican villages and the log cabins north- 

 ward. They are the most abundant in the desolate, rocky 

 places, because such localities are better adapted to their mode 

 of life, rather than for a love of seclusion, as is generally sup- 

 posed. During the breeding season they are very shy and ever 

 upon the alert, but at other times less regardless of an intruder. 

 Restless, active birds, hopping and fluttering from place to 

 place, creeping into the fissures in the rocks, chinks in the adobe 

 buildings, etc., in search of insects; scarcely still for a moment, 

 for when standing, they tilt their bodies and jerk and spread their 

 tails in a nervous, fidgety manner. 



The male, perched upon a rock or elevated position, pours 

 forth, with head thrown back and inflated throat, his loud, rapid, 

 whirring, musical song, so pleasing to the ear — especially in 

 their wild, secluded retreats, as the sound breaks the silence and 

 rings and echoes in the canons. Their ordinary notes are rather 

 harsh and varied. 



Their nests are placed in various situations — chinks in log 

 €abins, holes in adobe buildings, but usually on the ground, 



