310 NORTH AMERICAN "BIRDS. 



brown ; hencath yollow on antoiior half as in adult, l)tit yellow loss pure; rest of under 

 parts (exeept abdomen) oelirareous ; markings on head obsolete, llio eyelids oidy being 

 distinctly white. 



IIao. Western and Middle Provinces of I'nited States, east to Missouri River and 

 Texas; Cape St. Lucas and Western Mexico. 



The iiio.st tangible diilerenco between tliis bird and typical vircns con- 

 sists in the longer tail. In addition, the njiper ]>luniage is grayish, with 

 h"" Uy any olive tinge, and the white maxillary stripe extends I'artlier back ; 

 tlie bill is not so deep as that of the Eastern bird. All these difl'erences, 

 however, are in strict accordance witli various laws ; the more grayisli cast 

 of plnmage is Mhat we should expect in birds from the ^liddle Province, 

 while the restriction of the yellow from the maxilhr we see also in Western 

 specimens of Heiminthophaua rttJicdpiIJa ; the longer tail, also, is a well- 

 known characteristic of Western birds, as distinguished from Eastern of the 

 same species. 



Upon the whole, therefore, taking into consideration the absolute iden- 

 tity of their habits and notes, we can only consider the /. lon(jirai(da and 

 /. viriiis as restricted, as being merely geographical races of one species. 



This variety, as well as the Eastern, has in autumn and winter a slightly 

 different plumage. A pair (53,048 $ , and '>'.'t,''A7 9 , West Huml)oldt Moun- 

 tains, Nevada) obtained .Septeml)er 4 differ in the following respects from 

 spring adults : the ujjper plumage is decidedly In'own, with even a russet 

 tinge, — not gray, witli a greenish wash ; the lores are less ]>iu-ely black, and 

 the sides and crissuni are deep cream-color, instead of pure white ; the I'emale 

 has a shade of olive across the jugulum ; both male and female have the 

 lower mandible almost wholly white, and the commissure broadly edged with 

 the same. 



Xo. .■W,402 (J, 'aramie Peak, June, Juis the throat and jugulum strongly 

 stained with deep cadmium-orange. 



Habits. The AVestern or Long-tailed Chat lias an exclusively Western dis- 

 tribution, and has been found from Mexico and Cape St. Lucas to Oregon, on 

 the Pacific ■ oast, and as tar to the east as tlie Ui)])er Missouri. 



According j) Dr. Cooper, tliese birds a]»pear in San Diego and at Fort 

 Mojave in the latter jiart of A])ri]. They are said to inhabit chiefly tiie 

 warmer valleys near streams and marshes, rarely on the coast. At Fort Mo- 

 jaAe, Dr. Cooper fouiul a nest of this bird May 1!>, btiilt in a dense thicket of 

 .ilgarobia. It contaiiuul three eggs, and one of the Miiiotliru^. The nest was 

 built of slender green twigs and leaves, liiied witii grass and hair. The eggs 

 were white, sjn-inkled with ciniiiimon, somewhat in the form of a ring near 

 the larger end, and measured .T.") by .(!4 of an incli. 



These nests were usually very closely concealeil, but one that he found at 

 Santa Cruz, near the coast, was in a very ojjen sitimtion, only two feet above 

 the ground. When the nest is a]iproac]ied, tiie old birds are very bold, keep- 

 ing u]) a constant scolding, and almost flying in the lace of an intruder. At 



