THE AUK: 



A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF 



ORNITHOLOGY. 

 vol. ii. April, 1885. No. 2. 



WINTER NOTES FROM NEW MEXICO . 



BY CHARLES F. BATCHELDER. 



In December, 18S2, I had the good fortune to pass three weeks 

 at Las Vegas I Tot Springs, New Mexico, and though at that 

 season the species of birds met with were few in number, yet as 

 most of them were quite abundant, I think some account of my 

 observations may not be without* interest. The following notes 

 refer to the time between December 4 and 23. 



The Hot Springs are in the northern part of New Mexico, in 

 San Miguel County, six miles northwest of Las Vegas, and art- 

 situated in the canon of the Gallinas River, just above where that 

 stream emerges from the foot-hills of the mountains of the Spanish 

 Range — the extreme southeastern range of the Rockies — into the 

 elevated plains that are characteristic of a great part of the Terri- 

 tory. The town of Las Vegas, which is out on the plains, has 

 an altitude above the sea of 64^2 feet, while that of the Hot Springs 

 is 676S feet, the surrounding hills reaching several hundred feet 

 higher. The climate is delightful at this time of year. The dry 

 air and cloudless sky allow the warm rays of the sun to have 

 their full effect, and heavy clothing is quite unnecessary, often 

 unbearable. One can sit still on a warm sunny hillside with the 

 birds singing around him. and look across at the shady side of the 

 canon opposite, yet white with snow that fell several weeks 

 before, while on still, shaded pools on the stream below a supply 



