2 20 Coale, Ornithological Notes from the West. Truly 



over each other, always keeping well ahead of me. Several 

 were collected, but only a few in black plumage. At Fort 

 Lowell the verandas of the officers' quarters are screened by rows 

 of tall, thin cactus stalks which put out leaves in summer, making 

 a compact wall. It is the custom to sleep out doors during most 

 of the summer on the wide verandas, protected by this natural 

 barrier. 



Fort Huachnca, Ariz., April 18. The fort is at the mouth 

 of a great canon. Live oaks are growing everywhere in the 

 post, and cottonwoods along the creek. The California Wood- 

 pecker is the familiar bird about the trees in the officers' gardens. 

 Brewer's Blackbirds, California Jays and White-necked Ravens 

 are common. Found a Road-runner's nest and five eggs nearly 

 ready to hatch in a live oak, about six feet from the ground. 

 Along the creek I secured a pair of Green Towhees (Piftilo 

 chlorzirzts), not elsewhere met with. Also several Vermilion 

 Flycatchers, White-rumped Shrikes, Western Bewick's Wrens 

 and Black-capped Flycatching Warblers, Canon Towhees, 

 House Finches, one Ceryle alcyon, and a number of Arizona 

 Jays (Apkelocoma sieberii arizonce), the last two in Tanner's 

 Canon. Huachuca is the only place where I saw the 'sand 

 whirls,' a solid column of sand which is lifted from the earth to 

 the sky by the wind, having the appearance of a water- spout, 

 which the reader may remember seeing pictured in his old 

 geography. 



Fort Grant, Ariz., April 22. Grant is twenty-seven miles from 

 Willcox, Ariz. A creek with cottonwoods and underbrush affords 

 an inviting place for collecting specimens. A hundred feet either 

 side was the desert, with its cacti extending as far as the eye 

 could reach. The first bird shot was Mimus polyglottos. No 

 others seen. The most abundant species is the Mourning Dove. 

 This bird flew up at every step. Another common species, not 

 seen elsewhere, was Icterus cuadlatus nelsoni. It frequented 

 the tops of the cottonwoods and came about the officers' quarters, 

 showing very little fear of man. Helmiiithophila celata lutcs- 

 cens, one female taken ; also Vireo solitarius cassini. In a low 

 bush I found a nest of Pipilo fuscus mesoleucus containing 

 three fresh eggs. Also in a cactus, a nest and five eggs of the 

 Cactus Wren, which was quite common on the mesa. One 



