310 NORTH AMERICAN 'BIRDS. 



brown; beneath yellow on anterior half as in adult, but yellow less pure; rest of under 

 parts (except abdomen) ochiiircous ; niarkiii^''s on head obsolete, the e^elitls only beiiig 

 distinctly white. 



IIab. Western and Middle Provinces of I'nited States, east to Missouri River and 

 Texas ; Cajie St. Lucas ami Western Mexico. 



The most tan,i,M])le diirerence between this bird and typical virais con- 

 sists in the lonuer tail. In addition, tlie ni>per plumage is grayish, with 

 hardly any olive tinge, and the white maxillary stripe extends fartlier back ; 

 the bill is not so deep as that of the Eastern bird. All these dift'erences, 

 however, are in strict accordance with various laws ; tlie more grayish cast 

 of plumage is what we should exi)ect in birds from the ^liddle Province, 

 while the restriction of the vellow from tlie maxilhe we see also in Western 

 specimens of HchninthopJiaga riijirupilhi ; the longer tail, also, is a well- 

 known characteristic of Western birds, as distinguished from Eastern of the 

 same species. 



Upon the whole, therefore, taking into consideration the absolute iden- 

 tity of their habits and notes, we can only consider the /. loiujiravda and 

 /. rirr/LS as restricted, as being merely geograjdiical races of one species. 



This variety, as well as the Eastern, has in autumn and winter a slightly 

 different plumage. A pair (r)3,.'U8 (J, and i)'-*,'-A7 9 , West Humboldt ^loun- 

 tains, Nevada) obtained September 4 ditt'er in the following respects from 

 spring adults : the upper ]»lumage is decidedly lirown, with even a russet 

 tinge, — not gray, with a greenish wash ; the Icjres are less jmrely black, and 

 the sides and crissum are deep cream-color, instead of pure white ; the female 

 has a shade of olive across the jugulum ; both male and female have the 

 lower mandible almost wholly white, and the commissure broadly edged with 

 the same. 



Xo. 38,402 <? , Laramie Peak, June, has the throat and jugulum strongly 

 stained with deep cadmium-orange. 



Habits. The Western or Long-taded Chat lias an exclusively Western dis- 

 tribution, and has been found from ^lexico and Cape St. Lucas to Oregon, on 

 the Pacific coast, and as far to the east its the I"p])er ]\Iissouri. 



According to Dr. Cooper, these birds a] 'pear in San Diego and at Fort 

 Mojave in the latter part of A\wi\. They are said to iidiabit chietly the 

 warmer valleys near streams and marsli rarely on the coast. At Fort Mo- 

 jave, Dr. Cooper foinul a nest of this bird May li), built in a dense thicket of 

 algarolua. It contained three eggs, and one of the Molothrini. The nest was 

 built of .slender green twigs and leaves, lined with grass and hair. The eggs 

 were white, sjirinkled with cinnamon, somewhat in the form of a ring near 

 the larger end, and measured .75 by .64 of an inch. 



These nests were usually very closely concealed, but one that he found at 

 Santa Cruz, near the coast, was in a very open situation, only two feet al)o\'e 

 the ground. When the nest is ap})roached, the old birds are very l»old, keep- 

 ing up a constant scolding, and almost flying in the face of an intruder. At 



