140 



SINGLNU BlUDS — OSCINES. 



At Santa Cruz 1 saw uuik' ol' this si)ecies until September, though some 

 probably breed in the warm valleys back from the coast. In fall, however, 

 they were common about tlie town, perching on the houses and tlag-stalls, 

 on the watch for insects, and occasionally uttering theii' loud harsh cries. 

 One day I saw four of them circling round over the gardens in sporti\-e 

 flight, as if engaged in a game of " tag," screaming and flying more than I 

 ever before noticed. 



Specimens exhibit considerable differences in the size and shape of the 

 bill, as shown liy the preceding figures. One of the figures represents the 

 amount of white on the secondary i[uills. 



Collurio elegans, Sw.u.vsux. 



THE WHITE-WINGED SHEIKE. 



Lanitis elcr/aas, SwAi.Nso.x, Fauna Bor. Am. II. 1831, li2. — Nuttall, Man. I 2d ed. 1840, 

 287. — G.4MBEL, Pr. A. N. Sc. I. 1843, 261.— Baikd, P. li. Kcp. IX. Birds, 328 

 In. Bii'ds N. Anicr. pi. Ix.w. I'. 1. 



Sp. Char. " Clear bluisli-gray, bencatli mi.spotted white, frontlet the same color with 

 the liead ; a broad wliite band across the wing ; a slender and very crueiforni tail, en- 

 tirely bordered with white ; tlie second quill longer than the sL\th, the luurth longest ; 



tarsi exceeding the length of bill, measured from (lie angle of mouth. Length, 9.7.5 ; 

 tail, 4.42 ; bill from angle of mouth, 0.92 ; above, 0.C7 ; tarsus, 1.21." (Swainson.) 

 Ilah. Of original specimen, uncertain, but somewhere in AVestern North America. 



In his "Birds of North America" Professor Baird figures a sjiecimen 

 obtained by Dr. Gambel, somewhere iu " California," as probably this 



