I-'IUNUILLID.K - THE KlNCHKrf. 129 



siiuiateil. Tlie tail is mure gnuluated ; the claws thicker and stronger. The 

 wings are b.,(jrt and imicii rounded ; the fii-st quill shorter than the seconda- 

 ries ; tit'th and I'ourtli longest. 



It may he easily distinguished from all the varieties oi' fumis by the 

 blackish lores and chin, as well as l)y the absence of any colored gular area, 

 there being, instead, a ])inkish rufous tinge prevalent over the wiiole throat 

 and juguluni. There are no dusky spots across the throat as iii/iisciis. 



Habits. Dr. Cooper assigns tiie base of tlie liocky ^iountains, in New 

 Mexico, and the valleys of the Gila and Colorado llivers, as the habitat of 

 this species. 1 )r. Coues speaks of it as one of tlie most abundant and char- 

 acteristic birds (jf those two valleys, and adds that it langes northward to 

 within a few miles of Fort Whipple, but is not found in the adjacent moun- 

 tains. It was connnon at Fort Mohave, and particularly so at Fort Yuma. 



Dr. Kennerly met witli it at Camp No. 114, New Mexico, February G, ai.« 

 again at Bill Williams Fork, February 12. He states that while travelling 

 down the liig Sandy Creek and Bill Williams Fork, in the month of Feb- 

 ruary, he ibund them very abundant. They confined fliemselves to the 

 thick bushes near the water. Genei-ally two or three were seen together. 

 Their motions were ver}' rapid, and their note was a peculiar, loud, chattering 

 sound, sharp but not disagreeable. After leaving the Great Colorado he did 

 not see it again. 



On the borders of the (lila, east of Fort Yuma, Dr. Hecrmann found this 

 bird in great abundance. It kept in the close sheltered thickets, where, 

 secure from intrusion, it sought among the dead leaves for various seeds and 

 insects and their larvic, on whicli it feeds. In its habits it Aery much re- 

 sembles the Pijiilo fusvHH, or Canon Finch, diving into the bushes when 

 alarmed, and re])eating, at intervals, a short chirp. After leaving the Gila 

 River he did not meet with any more, as he followed no longer the course 

 of any large stream, for the borders of which these birds seem to have a 

 decided preference. 



Dr. Cooi)er regards tliis species as the almost exact counterpart of the 

 Pipilo fuscus. The only diHeniuce he noticed in hab'*;s was in the character 

 of its loud note of alarm, remarkably similar, however, to that of two very 

 distinct birds of the same valley, namely, Ccutiirus uropj/giolis and Phaino- 

 pcpla nitcns. Like the Canon Fincli, this species is said to live almost con- 

 stantly on the ground, but ai)pears rather more gregarious, especially in 

 winter. • 



About the first of April Dr. Cocjier met with many of their nests. Tiiey 

 were generally built in thorny shrul)S, and wer composed of a flooring of 

 coarse twigs, or of green herbs, and strongly interwoven with sti'ips of bark, 

 grass, and leav(>s. One bird had taken advantage of the recent introduction 

 of horses into the vailcv to obtain a lining of horse-hair for its nest. The 

 eggs were in all cases only three, bluish-white, with brown spots and streaks 

 in a ring near the large end, quite variable in number, and measuring one 



vol.. u, 17 



