226 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



On the Jlio Grande it extends into Texas, and thns qualifies itself for a 

 place within our fauna. A few specimens were procured at Kagle Pass and 

 elsewhere hy the Mexican liouudary Survey party. It is more abundant 

 on the western banks of the Rio (Jrande, especially at Matamoras. Among 

 the ^rS. notes left l)y Dr. Kennerly is a jiart of the memoranda of the 

 late Dr. Uerlandier of tliat place. Under the name of Pica elei/ans the lat- 

 ter refers to what is evidently this species. He describes it as found in 

 all parts of tlie l{epublic of Mexico, where it is known as Uraca, Pnjnrn 

 nn/rd, and, in Acapulco, Papate. It is found, lie adds, abundantly througli- 

 out the State of Tamaulipas. It lives upon grain, especially corn, devouring 

 the jilanted seeds and destroying the crops. It builds its nest in April, 

 laying its eggs in the same nu)ntli, and the young birds are hatched out by 

 tlie beginning of ^lay. The nests are large, the edges high, and the cavity 

 correspondingly dcH'p. They are constructed of dry plants and small bits 

 of cloth, which the birds find about the settlements, and the bottom of tlie 

 nest is plastered with clay, which gives it great firmness. This is covered 

 with grasses and pieces of dry weeds. The eggs are deseribetl as large, of a 

 pale leadtni-gray or a rusty color, over which are black marks, strijies, lines, 

 and s])ots without order or regularity. Tiiey are generally four in number. 

 The nests are built on the tops of the highest trees, usually the willows 

 or nicsipiitos. 



^Nlr. G. C Taylor, in his notes on the birds of Honduras, states that he 

 found this l>lackbird common, and always to be met with .about the villages. 

 It appeared to be jjolygamous, the males being generally attended by 

 several females. A fine male bird, with his accompanying females, fre- 

 (piented the court-yard of tiie Ifailroad House at Comayagua, where Mr. 

 Taylor was staying. They generfilly sat on the roof of the house, or among 

 the u])per Iwanches of some orange-trees that grew in the yard. They had 

 a very peculiar cry, not unlike the noise produced l>y the sharpening of a 

 saw, but more prolonged. 



Mr. Salvin found the bird very abundant in Central America. In one of 

 his i)a]iers relative to the birds of that region, he states that this species, in 

 (iuatemala, plays the part of the Eurojieau House Sj)arrow. It seeks tlie 

 abode of man, as does that familiar bird, and is generally found frequenting 

 larger towns as well as villages. Stables are its favorite places of resort, 

 where it scratches for its food among the ordure of the horses. It will 

 even perch on the backs of these animals and riil them of their ticks, 

 occasionally picking up stray grains of corn from their mangers. At Duenas 

 lie found it breeding in large societies, usually selecting the willows that 

 grow near the lake and the reeds on the banks for its nest. The breeding 

 season extends over some length of time. In May, young birds and fresh 

 eggs may be found in nests in the same trees. On the coast, young birds, 

 nearly ca]iable of flying, were seen in the early part of March. jMr. Salvin 

 adds that the nests are usually made of gra.ss, and placed anuuig uju'ight 



