390 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Mr. Joseph Leyland found this species common on the flats near Peten, 

 in Guatemala, as also on the pine ridges of Belize. They have, he states, 

 a singular habit of spinning round and round on the wing, and then 

 dropping suddenly with wings loose and fluttering as though shot, — ap- 

 parently done for amusement. They lay three or four light-colored eggs 

 in a small nest composed of light grass and lined with cottony materials. 

 Mr. Xantus found the nest and eggs of this species at San Jose, Mexico, 

 May 16, 1861. 



