388 



NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



tliu sidos and flniiks, faintest on the jiiffiiliiin, olisoleto on throat. Priinarioi? and lining 

 of wiiiij mostly deep clicstnut ; axilliirs bliiek ; lateral tail-fuather with the tonniiial half 



white, on both webs; .second and third feathers with 



a yradually derrcasiiiu; aiiionnt of white. Se.xes .«iiiiilnr. 



y^diiiir/ .einiilar, but feathers faintly mottled, and mark- 



iM;,'s less shar])ly delined. Wiiifr, 3.75 ; tail, 4.40 ; 



(•uliiien, .47 ; tarsns, .57 ; middle toe, .58. Female a 



littio smaller. 

 IIab. Rio Grande A'alley, south to Giiatemida. 



Arizona (Tucson, Beiidire); Oaxaea (Scr.. 1859, 391, 



e,u-j,'s); Cordova (IB.'jO, 399); (itiatemala (Ibis I, 'J123j ; 



Honduras (Tayi.oh, Ibis, II, 227); City of Mexico (Scl. 



P. Z. S. 18G4, 178.) 



SrnrtlnffUa hirn. 



Specimens i'roni Nicaiiigua to Texas and 



Mazatlau do not vary ajtpreciably. 



Habits. Our inrormation in regard to the distribution and habits of this 



specitis i,s (juite incomplete. It was met witli near Cadereita, in the State 



of Xew Leon, ^lexico, by Lieutenant Couch, wlio procured a specimen April 



18, is:):'.. 



It w;is also found in flocks in company with CJiamnpeUa rvfipennis, near 

 San Pedro and Peten, Honduras, by Loyland. ]Mr. Salvin met witli only a 

 single specimen at Duenas. On the coast it was more numerous, resemblin<' 

 in its habits the common species of tlie district, Ckama-jwlia imsscrina. 



The ■■' Long-tailed Ground Dove " is said by Mr. G. C. Taylor to be very 

 common in Honduras, where it is generally seen in pairs. Tiiey were found 

 to be \ery good eating, but too small to rejiay tlieir cost where ammunition 

 was so scarce. 



It Avas found breeding near Laredo, Texas, by Dr. H. ?>. Butcher, July 1, 

 18GG. The nest (S. I. 12,890) is said to have been built in the fork of a 

 small mesquite-tree, and to have contained two eggs. Tlie eggs are similar 

 to those of the ChamwpcUa imsserina, white, of an oval shape, nearly equally 

 obtu.se at either end. 



iMr. Xantus found this Dove breeding abundantly at Cape St. Lucas. The 

 maximum number of eggs was invariably two. One nest was found in a 

 leafless acacia about six feet from the ground ; another, iound May 2G, was 

 about five feet high, in a small thorn-bush ; a third was at the height of eight 

 feet, and also ])laced in a bush ; others were placed in small oaks, in cacti, in 

 opuntia, and otiier situations, all above the ground at heights varying from 

 five to eiglit feet. 



The eggs of this Dove are of a white color, are oval in their shape, of 

 about etpial size at either end, and measure .91 of an inch in length by .70 

 in breadth. 



