Vol. xxnn Montgomery, Birds of Brewster Co., Texas. i? 



1905 j ' j o 



that on most of the ranches the cattle are supplied from wells ; 

 and where the water lies there is apt to be an oasis in the desert, 

 — shade from a group of cottonwood trees, but elsewhere on the 

 plateau one looks in vain for shelter from the sun. Cacti, grease- 

 wood bushes, dwarfed mesquite, and sotol bushes compose the 

 characteristic flora of the plains, and in large districts the brown, 

 baked earth bears no grasses. The flora of the mountains is 

 richer and more varied, and the Chisos is well timbered with 

 small pines, red oak and other trees. 



The fauna is richest on the mountain sides and the wooded 

 canons, poorest on the plains. The latter may be said to be 

 essentially Sauropsidan and Hymenopterous : birds, lizards, ants 

 and wasps, with few Lepidoptera and Arachnida. One reason for 

 the lack of richness in the fauna of these high plateaus is to be 

 found, I think, in the occasional destructive torrents which sweep 

 over them from heavy rains on the mountains ; only the ants 

 seem to survive these deluges. For most of the year there is 

 total lack of water, with now and then destructive rivers of it. 



Specimens of all the species mentioned in the following list 

 were secured, unless otherwise stated. This list contains all the 

 species seen except two or three species of hawks and one wood- 

 pecker, which could not be identified. A longer time spent in the 

 Chisos Mountains and along the Rio Grande (which I did not 

 reach) would undoubtedly add considerably to the number in the 

 list. 



There can well be no question as to all these species being 

 summer residents, on account of the time of the year, and of the 

 fact that most of the birds were in moulting plumage, and many 

 were immature. 



i. /Egialitis vocifera. Killdeer Plover. — Alpine to Altudo, Mara- 

 thon, Garden Spring ; one or two pairs at each permanent spring. 



2. Callipepla squamata. Scaled Partridge. — Common along most 

 of the route, on the plains rather than on the mountain sides. This is 

 known locally as the " blue quail. 1 ' 



3. Cyrtonyx montezumse mearnsi. Mearns Quail. — Two pairs at 

 Green Gulch. 



4. Columba fasciata. Band-tailed Pigeon. — Oak Spring canon, 

 Chisos Mountains ; quite abundant around springs whither they come 

 to drink. 



