:::::::::*; TWO BIRD-LOVERS IN MEXICO :#:::::::;: 



used these curious structures as nests, I could not 

 determine. 



Now and then our old friends the Long-tailed Blue 

 Jays visited our tangle, whereupon we promj)tly left it, 

 knowing that their shrieks and cries would, for the 

 present, put an end to the bird-study in that vicinity. 

 Once, several of these annoying birds dashed into 

 sight, wild with" excitement. Their longest tail-feathers 

 were gone, and in general they presented a hopelessly 

 bedraggled appearance, being apparently in full moult. 

 The object of their persecution was a hawk, one of 

 the finest of the Mexican birds of prey, and by far the 

 most strikingly marked. It is well named the Laugh- 

 ing Falcon, for at times its call is remarkably like the 

 human expression of mirth. 



The colouring of the bird is a harmonious blending 

 of brown, creamy buff, and white, but the most pro- 

 minent characteristic, visible at a distance, is a broad 

 band of black through the face and eyes, bringing 

 instantly to mind the markings on the head of a rac- 

 coon. We saw these hawks on the trail to Colima, 

 sailing about, for hours at a time, high overhead. They 

 are gentle birds, and when one was stunned and kept 

 captive for a few days, it soon became tame and took its 

 portion of food from our hands. 



The most beautiful of all the small birds was a bunt- 

 ino". We christened him the Rainbow Buntino;-, but the 

 books call him the Leclancher Bunting. These little 



«4 320 ^ 



