BiiEWSTKR Oil a Collection of Arizona />ir(ls. 209 



O. imberbe ridg-vayi. — Depth of bill at nostrils, .14 to. 15. Above ashv- 

 brown ; beneath ash or ashj-white with scarcely any yellowish. 



In the present connection I have examined seven specimens of O. 

 imberbe. Five of these, from the collection of the National Museum, 

 represent the following localities: Texas (Rio Grande Vallev), Mexico 

 (Mazatlan and Tehauntepec) and Yucatan (Merida). The remaining 

 two, in my own cabinet, were taken at Lomita Ranch, Texas, in March 

 iSSo. The result of a careful comparison of this material is that the 

 Texas examples prove to be identical with those from Mexico and Cen- 

 tral America, while the Arizona birds differ very constantlv from all the 

 others in respect to the points mentioned above. The entire series is, of 

 course, a small one, but its evidence seems sufficient to warrant the varietal 

 separation of the Arizona form. 



The detection of this Flycatcher in Arizona is perhaps the 

 most interesting discovery resulting from Mr. Stephens' late trip. 

 O. imberbe has only recently been added to our fauna by Mr. 

 Sennett, and the locality of his single specimen — Lomita, Texas — 

 was so far beyond the previously known range of the species that 

 its occurrence seemed hardly likely to prove more than a mere 

 accident. In 1880. however, Mr. M. A. Frazar secured addi- 

 tional specimens at Lomita. and now an allied, but apparentlv 

 distinct race, turns up in Arizona. 



Mr. Stephens found the ciu-ious little bird only at Tucson, 

 where his first specimen was taken April 28. Afterwards others 

 were shot in the same locality, but they were by no means 

 common. The males had a habit of perching on the tops of the 

 tallest trees in the vicinity of their haunts, and at sunrise occasion- 

 ally uttered a singular song which Mr. Stephens transcribes as 

 ^""yoop-yoop-yoopeedeedledeh^ the first half given very deliberatelv, 

 the remainder rapidly." A commoner cry, used by both sexes 

 in calling to one another, was a shrill '•'•pier pif^r pi^r pi^r^ 

 beginning in a high key and falling a note each time." They 

 were very shy, and specimens were obtained only at the expense 

 of much trouble and perseverance. Their loud calls were fre- 

 quently heard, but when the spot was approached the bird either 

 relapsed into silence or took a long flight to resume its calling 

 in another direction. In their motions they resembled other 

 small Flycatchers, but their tail was less frequently jerked. 



On Mav 28 Mr. Stephens met with a young bird which had but 

 just left the nest. It was accompanied by the female parent, who 

 showed much solicitude and frequently uttered her shrill cries, to 

 which the oftspring responded in nearlv similar tones. Both 



