102 Scott on the Birds of Arizona. [April 



apparently a resident, though not so abundant as either of the last, through- 

 out the region. In the Catalinas I found it ranging up as high as five 

 thousand feet, and in tne Finals, though not so common as in the Catali- 

 nas, it had about the same distribution. It is not nearly so pronounced a 

 cactus species as either of the others, but seems to be equally if not more 

 at home on the rough hill-sides where there is a low dense growth of a 

 kind of juniper and some mesquite. 



They breed about the same time as Bendire's Thrasher, or perhaps a 

 little earlier, as I found eggs in the Catalinas during the first week in 

 April that were about ready to be hatched, and have taken young fully 

 fledged as early as May i. In the fall I have noticed the species feeding on 

 juniper berries and other small fruits. 



223. Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus. Cactus Wren. — Through- 

 out the region this is a common resident species, breeding in numbers and 

 raising at least two and sometimes three broods. They are seldom found 

 above 4000 feet on the foothills of the several mountain chains traversing 

 the Territory. While seeming to prefer the cholla cactus country, espec- 

 ially during the breeding time, yet I have found their nests commonly in 

 cat-claw and thick mesquite bushes. The first eggs are laid in the Cata- 

 lina region as early as March 20, and the broods vary from three to five in 

 number. 



224. Salpinctes obsoletus. Rock Wren. — The Rock Wren is a more 

 or less abundant species in the several counties here considered, but is 

 not nearly so common during the winter as at other times of the year. In 

 the mountains it ranges occasionally up to at least 8500 feet, though it is 

 perhaps most abundant between 3000 and 5000 feet. They begin to breed 

 in the Catalinas about the middle of March, and are in song by the last of 

 January. Six or eight young are the common inmates of a nest. Two 

 broods are raised. The nest is on the ground in some hole, or more fre- 

 quently under a rock. 



225. Catherpes mexicanus conspersus. Canon Wren — The rocky 

 canons of the mountains in the region under consideration are the home 

 of this species, which, so far as I am aware, is resident up to at least 

 5000 feet the year round. In the summer this range is extended to the 

 higher altitudes. (See Auk, Vol. II, No. 4, p. 350, October, 1S85.) The 

 species is not a very common one, it being rather unusual to see more 

 than a pair in the same neighborhood, but wherever they occur, and at 

 every season of the year, particularly in the early spring, the birds are 

 very conspicuous by their song, spoken of in the above reference. 



Their nesting methods are very different from those of the species just 

 considered. In the Catalinas I took in all half a dozen nests that were 

 built much like the nest of the Phoebe {Sayornis pkaebe), the same thick, 

 heavy walls, rather soft and covered with green moss on the outside char- 

 acterizing the structure, and the inside cavity not so broad or shallow as in 

 thecaseof the Phoebe. The nest is generally placed in some deserted tunnel 

 or cave, and at times in unused buildings. It is found more frequently on 

 some projecting ledge or shelf, and rarely in some cranny or hole that 



