TKmCLoDVTFD.K — TilK Wl . >. 137 



Tli(! Jiv.si is liomou'riMMuis in struct. % c» '»seii eiitirtdy of thin strips of 

 rtMl«lisli-(.'oluh'(l l);iik anil line lonts, intei-speistMl with u few snuiU l»its •»!' 

 wool. It is (.lisioitcil hy ]»jickin«<, so that nu asurenients of it woukl Ije 

 vahieless ; its dimensions in its ])R'sse<l condition are: diameter, "> inches ; 

 depth, 2 indies. TIk* cavity is sliaUow and saucer-shaped. 



From ^Ir. llidgway we k^arn that from the sunnnit of the Sieri-a Nevada 

 eastward, as far as tlit* party exph;red, lie found tliis Wren universally dis- 

 triluited. In the middle j>rovinces of the liocky Mountains it was the most 

 ahundant species of the family, hut was not so ahuniUmt in the Wahsatcli 

 Mountains. Tlie general resort of tliis sjjecies was among rocky or st ):iy 

 hill-slopes, though it was not confined to sucli localities. At Carson C ity 

 he found it particularly partial to the ruhhish of the decaying j)ine-logs. At 

 Virginia City it was the only Wren seen fre([uenting the old huildings a!id 

 ahandoned mining-shafts, in its predilection for such j)laces reminding liim 

 very much of the Thri/otJiorHf, lndoi'irii(iti(s, which in its manners it very 

 strongly resembles. 



Mr. liidgway noticed a wonderful variety in the notes of this W^-en. Its 

 peculiarly guttural turee was repeateilly heard, and its song in spring had 

 a slight resendjlance in modulation to that , of the Carolina Wren, though 

 altogether lacking the power and richness so characteristic of the superb song 

 of that bird. Fre<|uently its song was changed into a prohniged monotonous 

 trill, similar to the tremuh)us sja-ing-call of the Jciuo hi/iiaulis. 



This species is not so wary as the Cathctyt's iiujuuHnnfi. Upon suddenly 

 starting up an indiviilual of this kind, he would Hy to the nearest boulder, 

 turn with his breast towards the party, swing oddly from side to side, all the 

 while ludicrously bowing and scolding the intruder with his peculiar sharp 

 expressions of displeasure. 



Dr. Cooper, in his paper on the Fauna of the Territory of ^lontana, states 

 that he observed this bird occasi(»nallv throu'di the main IJockv Mountain 

 chain to near the crossing of the Bitterroot, but it was less common than 

 among the cliffs and rocks of the barren plain along their eastern slope. 

 Though he did not find it in the western j/art of Washington Territory, he 

 has no doul^t that it frecjuents parts of the rocky (canons of the Columbia 

 Plain. A nest with nine eggs wits found in a log-cabin below V'ort Benton. 



Genus CATHERPES, BAmn. 



Catherpcs, BAiun, Birds N. Am. iSoft, ',\:u. (Type, Thriiofhorus ladicanm, Sw.^ 



Ges. Char. Billloiifrer than the hca*!, sh-udcr : all the outlint's nearly straight to tho 

 tip, then gently decnived. }ron3's least so : nostrils hnear; tarsus short, about equal to the 

 middle toe, whieh reaehes to the middle of the middle claw. Outer toe considerably 

 longer than the inner, ri'aehing Iteyond the base of the middle elaw. Wings a little longer 

 than the tail ; the exjKtsed portion of the lirst primary about half that of the fourth and 



18 



