TCTERID^ — THE OKIOLES. 187 



breed. Their common name is Calandria, a name also given, witliout dis- 

 crimination, to four or five other species of Ictcri common in Vera Cruz. 

 Mr. Pease, in 1847, observed either this species or the melanocephalus at 

 Jalapa, and in the neighborhood of the city of Mexico, in considerable num- 

 bers. This bird was first described and brought to notice as belonains: to 

 our fauna, by Mr. Giraud, in 1841. Since then, Mr. John H. Clark, zoolo- 

 gist on the Mexican Boundary Survey, obtained several specimens from the 

 Lower Eio Grande. It was first seen by him near Ringgold Barracks. It 

 was not abundant, and its quiet manners and secluded habits prevented it 

 from being very conspicuous. It was most frequently observed by him 

 feeding on the fruit of the hackberry, but whenever approached, while thus 

 feeding, it always showed signs of uneasiness, and soon after sought refuge 

 in some place of greater concealment. 



Usually pairs were to be seen keeping close together, apparently prefer- 

 ring the thick foliage found on the margin of ponds, or in the old bed of the 

 river. They did not communicate with each other by any note, and Mr. 

 Clark was struck with their remarkable silence. Their habits seemed to 

 him very different from those of any other Oriole with which he was ac- 

 quainted. 



From the papers of Lieutenant Couch, quoted by Mr. Cassin, we learn 

 that these birds were seen by him, March 3, at Santa Eosalio, eight leagues 

 from jNIatamoras. They were in pairs, and both sexes were very shy and 

 secluded, seeking insects on the prickly pear, or among the low mimosa- 

 trees, seeming to be never at rest, but ever on the lookout for their favorite 

 food. 



While at Charco Escondido, farther in the interior of Tamaulipas, Lieu- 

 tenant Couch met with a pair of these birds, and having brought down the 

 male bird with his gun, the female flew to a neighboring tree, apparently 

 unaware of her loss. She soon, however, observed his fall, and endeavored 

 to recall him to her side with notes uttered in a strain of such exquisite 

 sadness that he could scarcely believe them uttered by a bird ; and so 

 greatly did they excite his sympathy, that he almost resolved to desist from 

 further ornithological collections. He adds that he never heard the lay of 

 any songster of the feathered tribe expressed more sweetly than that of the 

 present species. At Monterey he found it a favorite cage-bird. The female 

 also sings, but her notes are less powerful than those of the male. Generally 

 the flight of this bird was low and rapid, and it seemed to prefer the shade 

 of trees. It was observed almost invariably in pairs, and the male and 

 female showed for each other great tenderness and solicitude. 



The eggs of this species measure .90 of an inch in length by .70 in 

 breadth. Their ground-color is a light drab or a dull purplish-white, scat- 

 tered over which are faint markings of a subdued purple, blending imper- 

 ceptibly with the ground, and above these markings are dots and irregular 

 zigzag lines of dark brown, and darker purple, almost running into black. 



