REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 21 



" When I reached Tucson in January, 1884, it was midwinter, but the 

 only ev^idence of the fact there, lay in the leafless vegetation and the 

 frosty uights. Thin ice formed quite frequently on the borders of stag- 

 nant pools. The days were warm and pleasant, as a rule, much like the 

 'Indian-summer' days of autumn in the eastern States. 



" Prairie dogs and other mammals, that hibernate during winter in 

 more northern latitudes, are found full of activity at all seasons in this 

 portion of Arizona. 



" Tucson is situated on a large basin-like plain with groups of mount- 

 ains on every side, from 10 to 30 or 40 miles distant. It is a^o located 

 near the eastern border of the region covered by the giant cactus, with 

 several species of birds having their range within about the same 

 limits. 



" Various other species of cactus abound, and, with the mesquite 

 woods and the cottonwoods and elder trees along the bottoms near the 

 streams, form the most conspicuous part of the vegetation. The gen- 

 eral aspect of the country surrounding Tucson is very desert-like, al- 

 though covered with scrubby and thorny bushes, yet it is a favorite 

 resort for birds, and is probably the richest field for the ornithologist 

 north of the Mexican border. 



"During the four months following my arrival at Tucson, my attention 

 was given to securing a series of the birds found there, with gratifying 

 success. Perhaps the most notable of the cajitures consisted of a fine 

 series of the resident race of song sparrow, by the aid of which Mr. 

 Henshaw was enabled to decide that the song sparrow of Southern Ari- 

 zona is a resident form peculiar to that region, and to which properly 

 ai)pertains the name of Melospiza fasciata fallax ; while the song spar- 

 row of the Eocky Mountain region in general, which has heretofore 

 been known as fallax, was in reality an undescribed form to which Mr. 

 Henshaw has given the name of Melospiza fasciata montana. 



"A series of the rare Ilarporhynchus bendirei was also taken, includ- 

 ing the young in first plumage. 



"It having been discovered that the deserted holes of Colaptes chry- 

 soides and Cetiturus uropygialis in the trunks of the giant cactus were 

 resorted to by the little-known Whtuey's owl {Microthene Whitneyi) 

 and the southern screech owl [Scops trichopds), a number of these birds 

 were captured by cutting down the cactus stems and taking the birds 

 from their holes. 



"Later in the season, during the last of May, a portable ladder some 

 eighteen feet long was ust;d to good purpose in securing the birds and 

 their eggs. The giant cactus is frequently from thirty to forty feet high 

 in that vicinity, and the old woodpecker holes are placed so high that 

 one had very often to stand on the extreme u[>per end of the ladder with 

 one arm embracing the thorny cactus and the other hand employed in 

 cutting out the entrance of the hole to admit the hand. This style of 

 work is very successful, and, although two men are required to do it, 

 one can count upon finding an owl in about every fourth or fifth hole 

 examined in a good locality. The same proportion holds good when 

 hunting eggs in the nesting season. The vicinity of streams is the most 

 productive field. Toward the end of May the heat became very oppress- 

 ive, and early in June I made camp on the eastern slope of the Santa 

 Eita Mountains, about sixty miles southeast of Tucson. My camp was 

 in the live-oak belt at about 5,000 feet above the sea-level. Here I 

 found a much cooler temperature and a number of birds not seen 

 before. The breeding season was nearly over, though i was fortunate 

 enough to secure a fine nest and set of eggs of the black-throated ;^ray 



