:::::::::*• TWO BIRD -LOVERS IN MEXICO B--— 



through my glasses, I slipped and fell mto a ditch and 

 I remained there the rest of the day, not because of 

 inability to get out, but because I found these ditches 

 most delightful and profitable places in which to ram- 

 ble. Ramifying as they do about every field, we made 

 our way in any direction without ascending to the 

 ground above. The broad green pads of the cactus 

 arching overhead shut out the glare of the sun, while 

 the lacework skeletons of the fallen leaves made our 

 footsteps noiseless. 



But all this was to little advantage if these sunken 

 avenues offered no attractions to the birds and other 

 wild creatures. Our most sanguine hopes were realized, 

 as future walks demonstrated. Not only did the birds 

 and small beasts rush to the protection of the ditches 

 when alarmed in the open fields, but here many had 

 their homes, here the birds roosted at night, and a much 

 larger number found their food by day. We might 

 have rambled for weeks through the fields, and have 

 credited this semi-desert region with a much more 

 meagre fauna than was concentrated in these cool and 

 pleasant alleys, where we were as secluded as if miles 

 away from the city, although in reality only a few 

 hundred yards from the end of the streets. 



The Desert Sparrow Hawks ^ were as abundant and 



^ Two Sparrow Hawks which were shot by a young Mexican were 

 typical of the Western race phaloena. Whether our common Eastern 

 form was represented we could not determine, as we were not able to 

 distinguish the cliaracteristics in the living birds. 



«4 42 ^ 



