FIRST PROFESSIONAL WORK 61 



tion such as I have never seen equalled. To be 

 sure, as will be told later, the deserts of Arizona 

 are more densely inhabited by other kinds of quail, 

 several hundred sometimes being seen together. 



At Mound City I spent a very pleasant week 

 studying the local conditions. Among the birds 

 I recall Harris's sparrow as the greatest novelty. 

 A bird of the same genus as our white-throated 

 and white-crowned sparrows, and of similar habits, 

 it presents a difference in appearance. The sides 

 of the head are dull grayish brown, often whitish, 

 the remainder, glossy black. The back is streaked 

 much as in its allies. The chin, upper throat, and 

 breast are black like the top of the head and con- 

 nected with that region by black in front of the 

 eyes. There is no yellow present. The two 

 wing bars are similar to those of the relatives 

 mentioned, and Harris's sparrow is a little the 

 largest of the three. The same quality of plain- 

 tiveness is suggested that one finds in the song 

 of the " Peabody bird." 



The prairie-chicken was noticeable, both on the 

 plain and in the vicinity of cultivated ground. 

 Corn stubbles afforded a cover to its liking. 

 Just in front of the little hotel in the village was 

 a large field where corn had been grown the year 

 before, and all the time during my stay the call 

 of the prairie-chicken resounded through the 

 stubble, a source of constant wonder and delight. 



