268 NORTH AMERICAN BIRPS. 



Dr. Kenneily met witli these l)inls on tlie Little Colomdo in Xew Mexico, 

 in l)et'eml)ei'. He found them in great numhers soon niter leaving the 

 liio (Ininde, iind I'mni time to time on the march to California. Tliey seemed 

 to live inditi'erently in the deep canons among tlie hills or in the valleys, 

 hut were onlv found near water. 



Dr. Newberry iirst met with these hirds on the banks of one of the 

 tributaries of the Des Chutes, one hundred miles south of the Columbia, 

 afterwards on the Columbia, but nov. here in large iuim))ei*s. He regards 

 them as nuich less «rre<j:arious in their lial)its tlian J^ict nvttalli, as all the 

 birds he noticed were solitary or in pairs, while the Yellow-bills were often 

 seen in Hoi.ks of several hundreds. 



All accounts of this Itird agree in rei)resenting it as frequently a great 

 source of annoyance to parties of explor.ition, esi)ecially in its attacks 

 u'ton horses worn down and galled by fatigue and privations. In the mem- 

 orable narrative of Colonel Pike's journey in Xew Mexico, these birds, ren- 

 dered ]»old and voracious by want, are described as assembling around that 

 miserable party in great nund)ers, picking the sore backs of their perishing 

 horses, and snatching at all the food tliey could reach. The party of Lewis 

 and Clark, who were the first to add this bird to our fauna, also describe them 

 as familiar and voracious, penetrating into their tents, snatching the meat 

 even from their dishes, and frequently, when the hunters were engaged in 

 dressing their game, seizing the meat suspended within a foot or two of 

 their heads. 



Mr. Nuttall, in his tour across the continent, found these birds so familiar 

 and greedy as to be easily taken, as tiiey approached the encampment Ibr 

 food, by the Indian boys, who ke})t them prisoners. They soon became 

 reconciled to their confinement, and were continually hopping around and 

 tugging and struggling for anv offal thrown to them. 



Observers have rei)orted this bird from ditferent ])arts of Arizona and Xew 

 Mexico; but Dr. Coues writes me that he never .saw it at Fort Whij)ple, or 

 elsewhere in the first-named Territory. He found it breeding, however, in 

 tlie llaton Mountanis, in June, under the following circumstances, recorded 

 at the time in his journal. 



" Yesterday, the 8th, "we were rolling over smooth i>rairie, ascending a 

 little the while, l)ut so gradually that oidy the change in the flora indicated 

 the difference in elevation. The flowery verdure was j»assed, scrubby junipers 

 came thicker and faster, and pine-clad mountain-tops took shape before us. 

 We made the pass to-day, rounding along a ])icturesque ravine, and the 

 noon halt gave me a chance to see something of the birds. Troops of 

 beautiful Swallows were on wing, and as their backs turned ni their way- 

 ward flight, the violet-green colors betrayed the species. A colony of them 

 were breeding on the face of a cliff, api>arently like H. lunifrom, but the 

 nests were not accessible. Whilst I was watching their movements, a harsh 

 scream attracted my attention, and the next moment a beautiful Magpie 



