Kr:iN';FLMr).K tiik FiNriiKa 521 



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Mr. II. K. nrcsser, in his paper on tlit^ Kinls nf Southciii 'IV.xus, nu'ntioii.s 

 tiiitliiiLj tluM'lii*.stmit-(nlliir«Ml r»uni'n«^ iii Hocks cailv in the spriiij^, on tlie 

 prairit's near San Antonio, but it was not a coniiuon l»irtl tlicrt'. 



Dr. Woodliousu found lliis .sjHJcies (juite ran- in tlic Intliun Territory, wlu-re 

 h(3 was only aide to secure Ji .sin;4le .s[»eeinien. 



Captain lilakiston met with this species on the Saskat< hewaii Plains on 

 the lOtli of May, 1858, — a higher ranj^e than has heen noticed hy any one 

 else. 



Dr. Iloernmnn, wliile on a trip to the T^ocky Mountains in lS4.*i, met with 

 this species in small tlotks an«i i»airs, scattered over th<? prairies of the I'latte 

 Iiiver, and was so fortunate as to meet with <»ne of its nests. It was huilt 

 on the jjjround, and was ma*Ie of an interweavini,' of tine ^^rasses and lined 

 with liair. lie descrihes tht^ c«,'^'s, whicli were four in numher, as having a 

 wliite ground, with black lines at the lui-ger end, and a few faint blotches of 

 a neutral tint scattered over their whole surface. 



This description does not quite correspon<l with the eggs collected ]»y Mr. 

 Audubon on the Ujiper Missouri. These liave a clay-colored ground with the 

 slightest possi})le tinge of green, and are marked with Hue dots of ])urplish- 

 brown, and larger markings, blotclies, and short lines of dark brown. They 

 measure .70 by ..jo of an inch, and have a strong resemblance U) the eggs of 

 both /*. pirftts an<l I\ itunmirni. 



Five eggs of this s[>ecie.s, obtained at Fort Hays, Kansas, June I, 1871, by 

 Mr. J. A. Allen, measure .75 of an inch in length by S)?) in breadth. Thev 

 are small in proportion to the bird, and are somewhat pointed at one end. 

 Tlieir ground is a gray or grayish-white shade of stone-color, and this is 

 somewhat spa:'» ., y marked with blotches of dark l)rown, almost Ijlack, and 

 lighter markings of purplish-brow^n. The nest was placed on the ground, and 

 was comiK»sed altogetlier of fine stems of grasses. 



Flectrophanes omatus, \ar. melanomus, TLvird. 



BLACK-SHOULDEREB L0N08PUB. 



Plcctrophancs melanomus^ Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 436, pi. Ixxiv, f. ± — Heeumakx, 

 X, c, 13. 



8p. Char. Bill yellowi.^h, dark brown aloncj the oulmeii. Mafi'. Crown, a .<5!iort stripe 

 behin«l the eye. and a .><hort creseent behind the ear-coverts, entire breast as far baek as 

 the thighs, and the lesser wiiiir-eovert^^. black. The black on the breast margined with 

 dark cinnamon. Sides of head, chin, throat, and region behind the black of the belly, 

 white. A broad half-collar of dark cinnamon-brown on the back of the neck. Tail- 

 feathers mostly white ; the innermost tipped with dark brown ; the white ending in an 

 acnte angle. Length, 5.30; wing. ;3.40; tail. 2.<)0. (Xo. G,2J)0.) 



Hab. Eastern slope of the Ro(,-ky Mountains, Mexico, on the table-lands, north to 

 Tipper Mis.souri. Orizaba (Sclatkr, 18G0, 251); San Antonio, Texas, s[»ritig (Diik.^sku, 

 Ibis, 18G5, 480); Fort Whipple, Arizona (Coles, P. A. X. S. ISGG, 84); Vera Cruz, 

 plateau, breeding (Scmumrast, I, 551). 



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