CAl'IilMLLOIDJ': — THE (iUATSUCKEUS. 405 



Mr. Dresser lound them vurv iilmiidjiiit iit MuLainoriis, and as far east as 

 the Sal Colonulo, Ijeyond whieli lie did not meet with any. xVbout (hisk, 

 tliousands of these l»inls niiL;ht 1k^ seen tlyini,' in towards the river from the 

 prairies. At San Antonio, where Mr. Hresser found hoth C. y>oy^r///r and C. 

 te^en.'iis, he never procured a sin^de specimen of this bird, lun- iHd I)r. Ileer- 

 nicinn ever meet with one lin're. 



Dr. Coues .says these l»irds are al)un(hint tliroughout tlie Territory of 

 Arizona. At Fort Whipple it is a sunnner resident, arriving: in Aj>ril 

 and remaining,' until Oetohcr, in'ing particularly numerou.s in Au«j:ust and 

 September. Mr. I)rexler made a hir«;e collection of the.se binls at Fort 

 IJridger, in Utah, all of which showed such constant ditVerences from east- 

 ern specimens as to indicate in his oi)inion the propriety of a specific 

 separation. 



An e,ug of this bird taken at Fort Crook, California, by J jeutenant Fulnor, 

 measures 1.25 inches in length by .1)2 of an inch in breadth. While resem- 

 bling in geneml etlect an egg of C. popdue, it is lighter in colorings, and 

 varies from any of that bird I have ever seen. Its ground-color is that of 

 clay, over which are difi'used curious aggregations of small spots and cloud- 

 ings of yellowish-brown, mingled with- lilac. These markings are (piite 

 small and separate, but are grouped in such close proximity into several 

 collections as to give them the appearance of large blotches ; and the blend- 

 ing of these two shades is so general as to })roduce the effect of a color 

 quite different from either, except upon a close inspection, or an examina- 

 tion through a magnifying glass. 



This variety was met with at the Forks of tlie Saskatchewan, in June, 

 1858, by Captain lilakiston, and specimens were obtained on the Saskatche- 

 wan Plains, by M. Bourgeau, in the summer of the same year. The latter 

 also procured its eggs. These are said to have l)een three in number, de- 

 scribed as light olive, blotched with black more thickly at one end than 

 the other. No mention of shape is made. This descri[)tion, incomplete as 

 it is, indicates a great dissimilarity with eggs of this bird, fully identified in 

 the Smithsonian collection. 



The western variety was met with by Mr. Ridgway throughout the entire 

 extent of his route across the Great Basin. It bred everywhere, laying its 

 eggs on the bare ground, beneath a sage-bush, usually on the foot-hills of 

 the mountains, or on the mesas. In August and September they congregate 

 in immense flocks, appearing in the evening. Not the slightest difference 

 in habits, manners, or notes, was observed between this and the eastern 

 Night-Hawk. 



