136 



NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Snfpinetfs ohsoUtus. 



tains, having been found by Dr. Xewljerry at Klamath Lake in Oregon. Dr. 

 Coo])€r does not describe their song, but Dr. Heennann speaKS of it as only a 

 very weak trill. The latter met with them in the mountainous districts of 



California, where thev were searching 

 for their food among the crevices of 

 the rocks. He afterwards met with 

 them in New Mexico and Texas. 

 They were quite abundant in the Te- 

 jon Valley, j)assing in and out, among 

 and under the boulders prof usely scat- 

 tered over the mountains, searching 

 for spiders, worms, and small insects, 

 in pursuit of wliich they uttered at 

 intervals a loud and (juick note of a 

 peculiarly thrilling chai-acter. Lieu- 

 tenant Couch found them in the sand- 

 stone ranges near Patos, in the province of Coahuila Some of their habits 

 are spoken of as sparrow-like, and, while they have the usual wTen-like 

 grating noises, they also possess a song of great variety and sweetness. 



Dr. Kennerly met with them among the bushes in the vicinity of the Eio 

 Grande. Their flight he describes as short, the bird generally soon alighting 

 on the gi'ound and running off very rapidly. 



This Wren was first discovered bv Mr. Sav near the Arkansas River, inhab- 

 iting a sterile district devoid of trees, hopping along the ground or flitting 

 through the low, stunted junipers on the banks of the river, usually in small 

 flocks of five or six. Nuttall afterwards found them in July on the Western 

 Colorado. The note of the female was ehorr-cJiarr-tc-aigh, with a strong 

 guttural accent, and with a shrill call similar to the note of the Carolina 

 Wren. The old birds were feeding a brood of five young, which, though full 

 grown, were cherished with querulous assiduity. He found them nesting 

 among the rocky ledges, in the crevices of which they hide themselves 

 when disturbed. Mr. Nuttall also met with this species near Fort Van- 

 couver. Mr. Salvin states that in several instances it has been met with in 

 Guatemala. 



The eggs of this Wren obtained by Dr. Palmer in Arizona have a clear 

 white ground, sparingly spotted with well-defined, distinct dottings of brown- 

 ish-red. These are chiefly distributed around the larger end. They vary 

 somewhat in size and sha])e, some being of a more rounded foi*m, though all 

 have one end more ])ointed than the other. The length is pretty uniform, 

 .77 of an hich. The brcmdth varies from .60 to .66 of an inch. They are 

 larger and more oblong than the eggs of any other Wren,, except perhaps the 

 mcxicanm, and bear little resemltlance to any other eggs of this family with 

 which I am acquainted, except those of the Winter W>en, and the egg at- 

 tributed to T. amrriranus. 



