May 1888.J 



AND OOLOGIST. 



67 



the v<'iy strict ciistoins laws of Mexico, our 

 barrel of alcoiiol, spins, guns. ot<'., wont 

 tlirougli free of duty willi Utile Iroulilc on our 

 part. 



We received every courl<'sy from llie .Mexican 

 Collector of Customs. Mr. Hosas, ami also from 

 our own collector, Mr. Wilson; also ver}' great 

 kinilncss from Mr. Saniiuvol.a >Icxican broker. 



Indcecl, we are glad to I'ccord that on all oc- 

 casions, wp found the Mexican ollicials of So- 

 nora with whom we c.ime in contact, very gen- 

 tleuianly and nbliging in llieir inlercoursp with 

 us. 



After supper, we clambered up the barren 

 looking liills back of the town to look for birds 

 and whatever else of interest ndght be. found. 

 'I'he most interesting thing of all t(j our pyps 

 was, of course, the curious town which now 

 lay in full view beneath us, but as this is not 

 the place to describe it, wp must hasten on to 

 the birds. 



We spent this evening and the forenoon of 

 tlip following day among thes(! Iiills and moun- 

 tains. We found herp but little vegpt.-itioii. 

 Tall Spanish bayonets and ^c■.■lHere(l grou))S of 

 scraggy oaks are the only conspicuous forms, 

 but among the red r(<cks are a considerable 

 number of smaller cacti, a few grasses, and in 

 favorable placps a numbpr ot little fpriis vprv 

 odd and very i)rptty. In tliP canons the oaks 

 were more luimerous, and look soinething of 

 the size and appcaraucc ot oM a|iple trees. 



-As we scrambled up over the rm-ks we saw 

 several Night Hawks (probably Clmrdciles tex- 

 cnsin Lawr.), circling ovprlipad, and as we de- 

 scended into a transverse canon an<l approached 

 a clump of oaks, we disturbed a dozen .\rizoiui 

 Jays {AphHocoma sihcrii arisona: Kidgw.). 

 which lid tried from ns. .\s tlipy flpw from tree 

 to tree further up the canon, their harsh, discor- 

 dant notes rpininded us niuilj of i1h' iioi<e made 

 by the California Jay, as we useil to hear it 

 ■among the Coast Ranges. 



A number of House Finches ( Carpudfu-us mn^ 

 icanns frontalis), were -seen near and in the 

 town, and as we came down the canon after the 

 " shades of night "' had conip, a whippooiwill 

 (probal)ly AiitrdSt/niiitx vacifcrus arixomv. 

 Hrewst.), alighted uj)on a flat stone in front of 

 us. Wp li.ad no guii with us, and two or three 

 sliots from a revolver had no fiiilher elVcct 

 than to scare it away. 



During the morning we saw two or three 

 Canon Wrens (Cathfriin-s ini-xini mis cunsjifrsus 

 Itidgw.), and we had the good luck to kill a 

 specimen of the Uufous-wingcd .Sparrow {Peii- 

 rwu curpalis Coues). 



Far up one of the canons we came upon a 

 male and two female .Scotfs Orioles (Icterus 

 parimrimn), but they were extremely wary, 

 and after a long chase, we were compelled to 

 return wilboHl them. The note of these 

 orioles seemed to us less musical than that of 

 any others which wp have heard. A Flicker 

 (Colaptes rafer) was seen, an Ash-throated Fly- 

 catcher {Miiiiirrhns I'incrdsccns'), was shot from 

 a Spanish bayonet, and a Say's Pewee {Siiyarn- 

 issin/ii). was seen on a rocky ledge near the 

 town. .\ woodpecker of some kind was heard 

 hammering in an old tree up the mountain 

 side, and a Southern Mocking Bird (Mimuspn- 

 li/r/lottfis), sang to us from the top of a Spanish 

 bayonet. 



But Nogales was not a very good place for 

 birds. 



On the pvpning of tlip .ith, we started south- 

 ward on the Ferro-Caril de .Sonora customs. 

 Guards werp aboard the train, and a careful 

 search was made for smuggled goods. Inder 

 one seat a large roll ot calico was found. This 

 was, of course, contiscated. When the guard 

 e;iine to our small tank ot alcohol, which we 

 carried with us that we might be able to save 

 any lizzards, snakes, etc., which we might 

 liick up along the way, he carefully examined it 

 with evident satisfaction, believing tliat he 

 had niaile another " tind." But when we un- 

 screwed the lop and lifted out afew snakes and 

 such, be Inriied away with unfeigned disgust, 

 evidently tliinking tliat nqiia caltcnte was not 

 what he wanted. 



About midnight wp reached Magdalena, tifty- 

 four miles south of Nogales. During the af- 

 ternoon and night it had lieen raining in the 

 mountains, and here w<' were sto|)ppd by a 

 " wash out," the constant comiianion of the 

 traveler in this region in the rainy season. Here 

 we lay till the morning of the second day, and 

 though it rained much of the time, we saw a 

 good deal of the birds to be found there. 



Miigdaleiia is a thorough Mexican town of 

 two or three thousand inhabitants. From the 

 Plaza to its very outskirts there is nothing at 

 all American in its appearance, if we except the 

 smoke-stack of a steaiu flouring mill which 

 goes occasionally, and which may be seen at 

 the edge of tlie city. The Plaza is clean 

 enough, and llicre may bc' other clean places in 

 the town, but the streets, which radiate from it, 

 generally radiate very (|uii'kly into a high 

 degree of dirt, wbicli, on a warm, damp morn- 

 ing during the rainy season, lends a resultant 

 odor which owes its origin to many mingled 

 powerful coniponeiils, which, coupled with the 



