April 1904] BIRDS OF THE HUACHUCA MOUNTAINS, ARIZONA. 65 



deserts that intervene, and might be expected to form an utterly impas- 

 sible barrier. 



I believe slevini to be a fairly common migrant in the Huachucas, 

 though but few specimens were secured, for it is an extremely shy bird, 

 and from the nature of the ground frequented, exceedingly difficult even 

 to get sight of. Auduboni was found mostly in the pine woods, and 

 guttata along the canyons, but slevini seemed to prefer the dense thickets 

 covering the steep, dry, hillsides, an unpleasant place to travel in at any 

 time, and almost hopeless ground in which to pursue a shy, secretive 

 bird like the present species. The specimens secured were, a male shot 

 on March 9, 1903, and two females taken on May 8th, and another on 

 April 19, 1902. 



I have a specimen of slevini in my collection, from which the label 

 was unfortunately lost, which was one of a lot of skins (now in the pos- 

 session of W. Lee Chambers) put up by R. D. Lusk in the Chiricahua 

 Mountains. If this specimen came from that range, as would seem to 

 be the case, it probably indicates the extreme eastern limit to which the 

 species wanders. o 



Merula migratoria propinqua Ridgway. Western Robin. 



This species is a fairly common resident in the Huachucas, and I 

 could see no difference in its numbers at different seasons. During the 

 cold weather the Robins could be found in abundance along the lower 

 canyons and through the foothills generally, but by the end of April they 

 had retreated to the higher pine regions, few being seen below 8000 feet 

 during the breeding season. I took fully fledged young on July i, and 

 by the middle of the month they began to move down to a lower alti- 

 tude, the spotted juveniles being seen in all parts of the mountains. 



Sialia mexicanus bairdi Ridgway. Cestnut-backed Bluebird. 



During February and the early part of March I found the Chestnut- 

 backed Bluebirds quite numerous in the lower foothills, and on the plains 

 immediately near the mountains, being entirely absent from the higher 

 parts of the range, where the snow still lay deep on the ground ; b'ut 

 about the middle of March they began to move upward, and by the first 

 of April there were none to be seen except in the higher pine regions, 

 their breeding grounds. Here they remained through the summer in the 

 greatest abundance, none being seen below 8000 feet, and being most 

 numerous along the divide of the mountain. About the middle of Au- 

 gust they began, to some extent, to move down to a lower altitude once 

 more, for the evening of August I2th a small flock was seen flying over- 

 head near the base of the mountains. 



The male birds collected show considerable variation in the shade 

 and intensity of the blue coloring, but are remarkably uniform in the 

 pattern of the markings ; having with hardly an exception the inter- 

 scapular region "solid" chestnut, and the sides and flanks of the same 

 color extending broadly across the breast. In just one specimen, a 

 breeding bird in rather worn plumage, the blue of the throat and abdo- 

 men just meets on the median line of the breast; while the chestnut of 

 the upper parts is reduced to a mere line across the back. A juvenile 

 male taken August 26th is still in the spotted plumage, though with 

 large chestnut patches appearing on the sides and flanks. 



