

124 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



borhood of Fort Davis, Texas. They are exceptionally abundant in the 

 aforesaid mountains, in July, where they collect in large flocks to feed on 

 the wild grapes, and afterward disperse in search of acorns. Each flock I 

 saw was under the guidance of a leader who would fly around a tree sev- 

 eral times alone, and when satisfied there was no danger it would alight, 

 and the rest of the band followed its example. These flocks ranged from 

 twenty to fifty. I only found eggs of this species in. Mexico. They are 

 abundant all down the Sierra Madre to at least the Sierra Nevada do Colima. 

 It lays two eggs to a set, and I found them nesting on June 2. The nests 

 are placed on limbs of trees, oaks preferred." 



The Arizona records of the nesting of this species differ as far as the 

 number of eggs are concerned. Mr. F. Stephens writes me that he found 

 three nests of this species at an altitude of from 5,000 to 8,000 feet in Ari- 

 zona. They prefer the open forest, where the oaks and pines mix, nesting 

 on both kinds of trees. The nest consists of a very slight platform of sticks 

 In one case it was composed of a few pine twigs laid across a horizontal 

 fork of a small branch of pine, about 20 feet from the ground. Another 

 nest was but 8 feet, and the third 12 feet, from the ground. The earliest 

 date of nesting was March 6, 1877, the latest July 18. Each nest contained 

 but a single egg." 



In my notes on a collection of eggs from southern Arizona, made by 

 Lieut. Harry C. Benson, Fourth Cavalry, U. S. Army, at Fort Huachuca, 

 I make the following statement based upon his observations: "This Pigeon 

 is fairly common in the vicinity of Fort Huachuca during the summer months, 

 arriving about June 1 to 10 in large flocks, frequenting the oak groves 

 along the foothills and mountain sides. It feeds on a berry about the size 

 of a large pea, growing on a hardwood tree not known to Lieutenant Ben- 

 son, till the acorns are of suitable size, about July 15, when it feeds almost 

 exclusively on them. 



"It commences nesting about the beginning of July, and continues to 

 lay till late in October; it does not breed in communities, however, there 

 being but one or two nests to the acre. The nests are placed in live-oak 

 trees (Quercus undulataf), from 15 to 30 feet from the ground. The nest is 

 simply a slight platform of twigs on which the egg is laid. Eggs were taken 

 from July 13 to September 25, 1885, inclusive. 



"But a single egg is laid in a clutch, in that vicinity at least. This is 

 elliptical ovate in shape, abruptly pointed at the smaller end; pure white in 

 color, slightly glossy, and the five specimens sent measure 1.58 by 1.10, 1.62 

 by 1.10, 1.62 by 1,13, 1.68 by 1.04, 1.69 by 1.09 inches" (equal to 40.1 by 

 27.9, 41.1 by 27.9, 41.1 by 28.7, 42.7 by 26.4, 42.9 by 27.7 millimetres). 1 



Mr. Otho C. Poling has also made some further observations regarding 

 the Band-tailed Pigeon during the season of 1890, in close proximity to 

 Fort Huachuca, Arizona, and I make such extracts from his notes as are of 



'Proceedings U. S. National Museum, 1887, Vol. x, p. 551. 



