140 Nnirni AMKKICAX niHDS. 



as i)ile(l up thick and liigli. Tlioy were ilartiu^' from rock to rock aiul 

 cret*j>iii«^ among the (devices witli gn?at activity, constantly rej>cating their 

 ]>eculiar an<l singuUir note. The great rapidity of their motions rendered 

 it ditticnlt to procure a sj»ecimen. He did not observe this bird anywliere 

 else. 



Their occurrence ecjually in such wild and desolate regions and in tlie midst 

 of crowded cities indicates that tlie abundance of their food in either place, 

 and not the absence or jnesence of man, determines this dioice of residence. 

 When first observed they were sui)pose<l to nest exclusively in deep and in- 

 accessible crevices of rocks, where they were not likely to be traced. ^Ir. 

 H. E. Dresser afterwards met with its nest and eggs in Western Texas, though 

 lie gives no description of eitlier. He found this spetMcs rather common near 

 San Antonio, wliere it remained to breed. One i)air frecpiented a printing- 

 office at that j)lace, an old lialf-ruined building, where their familiar habits 

 made them great favorites with the workmen, wlio informed him that the 

 previous spring they had built a nest and reared their young in an old wall 

 close by, and that they became very tame. At Dr. Heermann's ranclio on 

 the Medina he procured the eggs of this bird, as well as those of tlie 

 Louisiana and Bewick's Wren, by nailing up cigar-l)oxes, with holes cut in 

 front, wherever these birds were likely to build. 



Mr. Sumichrast describes its nest^ as very skilfully wrought with spiders' 

 wel)S, and built in the crevices oi' old walls, or in the interstices between the 

 tiles under the roofs of the hou.ses. A nest with four eggs, supposed to be 

 those of this species, was obtained in Western Texas by ^Ir. J. H. Clark ; it 

 was cup-shaped, not large, and with only a slight depression. The eggs, 

 four in number, were unusually oblong and jKjinted for eggs of this family, 

 and measured .80 by .0(1 c»f an inch, with a crystalline-white ground, pro- 

 fusely covered with numerous and large blotches of a reddish or cinnauKJii 

 brown. 



So far as the observations of Mr. Kidgway enabled him to notice this bird, 

 he found it much less common than the Sft/pinrfts olso/ctHs, and inhabiting 

 only the most secluded and rocky reces.ses of tlie mountains. Its common 

 note of alarm is descril>ed as a ]ieculiarly ringir-'^ i/hd: It has a remark- 

 ably odd and indescribably singular chant, ut^ v; ' unlike anything else Mr. 

 Iiidgway ever heard. This consisted of a '-^iif of detached whistles, be- 

 ginning in a high fine key, every note clear, smooth, and of equal length, 

 each in succession l)eing a degree lower than the ])receding one, and <mly 

 ending when the bottom of the scale is reached. The tone is soft, rich, 

 and silvery, resembling somewhat the whistling of the Cardinal Gros- 

 beak. 



It was oft^n seen to fly nearly perpendicularly up the face of a rocky wall, 

 and was also noticed to cling to the roof of a cave with all the facility of a 

 true Creeper. 



^ Tills i-einark applies to the M»'xi<au nu'«'. 



