BIRDS OF SOUTHWESTERN MEXICO. , 41 



at SO rapid a rate that a dog can scarcely follow bim ; and if be liuds in 

 bis way a mass of dead branches, a bole, or a tbicket of vines, be bides 

 himself so well that it is diflBcult to find bim. 



"The young (of the first year?) are distinguished from the adults, 

 not only by the plumage barred with black underneath, but also by the 

 color of the bill. With the adults, this latter is black ; with the young, 

 it is of a greenish-olive, darker on the culmen ; the cere and the lores 

 are of a yellowish-green, and the feet of the young are of a more lively 

 yellow. At all ages, the iris is of a reddish-brown." 



331. Herpetot]iere§ cachinnnn^ (Linn.). 

 " Tehuantepec (Tapana) ; Tehuantepec City ; October and December. 

 " Iris dark brown ; bill blackish ; cere yellowish ; feet dull white, 

 " Dispersed on the two coasts of Mexico, this bird is known under 

 the name of Vaquero at Vera Cruz and Llama-iiorte at Tehuantepec. It 

 frequents with preference savannas, clearings, or the border of woods. 

 Its large head, the custom that it has of ruffling its plumage when some 

 object attracts its attention, and the grotesque gestures that it some- 

 times makes, give it a certain likeness in physiognomy to the owls. Its 

 cry, which is very loud, is heard from a distance, and in the opinion of 

 the natives forebodes the approach of rain or the north wind. Its food is 

 principally composed of snakes, lizards, and grasshoppers." 



333. Accipiter Tusscus (Gm.). 



" Tehuantepec (Santa Efigenia) ; Tehuantepec City; November and 

 January. 



" Iris reddish-orange ; cere greenish-yellow ; feet yellow." 



333. Aecipiter cooperi, Bp. 



" Tehuantepec (Santa Efigenia)." 



334. Biiteo borealis (Gm.). 



" Tehuantepec City ; Cacoprieto ; January, 1872. 

 " Iris clear yellowish-brown 5 cere olivaceous; bill plumbeous; tarsi 

 clear yellowish-green." 



235. ISutco penni^ylvaiiicii!^ (Wils.). 



"Tehuantepec (Santa Efigenia); December, 1868. 



'' Iris hazel-brown ; cere yellowish-green ; feet yellow." 



2SG. IScateo 5>tlcii'0(i*Ies (Temm.). 

 "Tehuantepec (Tapana) ; July, 18G9. 

 " Iris hazel-brown ; cere greenish ; feet yellow." ^ 



