4*M) NOUril AMEUK'AX ItUUJS. 



thorn uii Devil's iliver, in Texii.s, wluiio liis atteiitimi was at tivst directed 

 tu theiu liy their very peculiar note, which, wiieii tirsl Jieard, suj^gested 

 to him the cry of some sjiecies of sc^uirrel. In th(! valley of the Lower lUo 

 Grande he also met with these birds in companies of a ilozen or more. Their 

 food, on the jirairies, ap])eared to lie entircdy insectivorous ; while on the 

 Lower Itio (Jrande all the specimens that were procured had their liills 

 stained with the berries of the opnntia. They were not shy, and would 

 rather get out of the way by running than by Hying. At no time, and under 

 no cin.'umstances, were they known to alight in liushes or in trees. They 

 were only known to make mere scratches in the grtjuiid for nests, and their 

 situations were very carelessly selected. Young birds were i'ound in June 

 and in July. 



Lieutenant Couch first met with this species about si.xty leagues west of 

 Matamoras, and not until free from the prairies and bottom-land. It was 

 occasionally noticetl, apparently associating with the Orti/.r kxuno, to which 

 it is very similar in haliit. 



Dr. Kennerly found them everywhere where there was a jjermanent supply 

 of fre^'.i water, trom Limi)ia Creek, in Te.xas, to Sau ISernardino, in Sonora. 

 They were met with on the mountain-sides, or on the hills among the low 

 mesquite-bushes and b.irrea. They a]»pareutly rely more upon their legs 

 than upon their wings, ascending tl.e most precipitous dill's or di.sappearing 

 among the bushes with great rai)idity. 



The most western jjoiiit at which Dr. lleermann observed this species was 

 the San I'edro liiver, a branch of the tJila, east of Tucson. There a flock of 

 these birds ran before him at a quick i)ace, with outstretched necks, heads 

 elevated, crests erect and exjiandeil, and soon disappeared among the thick 

 bushes t)\at surrounded them on all sides. After that they were seen occasion- 

 ally until they arrived at Lym})ia Springs. Lieutenant Barton informed Dr. 

 Heermanu that he liad procured this species near Fort Clark, one hundred 

 and twenty miles west of San Antonio, where, however, it was quite rare. 

 It was found abiuulantly on the open plains, often starting up before the 

 party when passing over the most arid jiortions of tlie route. They also 

 seemed partial to the pi'airie-dog villages. These, covering large tracts of 

 ground destitute oi' vegetation, probably offered the attraction of some 

 favorite insect. 



Dr. Woodiiouse met witli this .species on only one occasion, as the party 

 was passing up the liio (rrande, at the upper end of Valleverde, on the west 

 side of the river, on the edge of the sand-hills, feeding among the low bushes. 

 They were exceedingly shy and (juick-footed. He tried in vain to make 

 them fly, and they evidently preferred their feet to their wings as a means 

 of esca])e. lie was told that they were found above Santa Fe. 



Mr. Dresser Ibund this species on the Kio Grande above IJoma, and be- 

 tween the Kio Grande and the Xueces they were quite abundant ; wherever 

 found, they seemed to have the country to themselves to the exclusion of 



