A Catalogue of Birds obtained in Navarro County, Texas. 171 



very nearly equal in length to the primaries. For the above 

 reasons it is probable that it will eventually prove necessary to 

 form a sub-genus for the reception of this bird. 



The occurrence of Peuccea aestivalis as an autumn migrant in 

 small numbers is also interesting; all the examples obtained 

 belong to the form which has been lately separated by Mr. 

 Ridgway as var. illinoensis. 



The great abundance of Centro^phanes lapponicus and Neocorys 

 spraguei in this district was also an agreeable surprise to me, 

 Fort Garland, New Mexico, being the most southerly point 

 from which the former has been recorded hitherto, according to 

 the Histat^y of North American Birds. (Yol. i,, p. 515.) Here, 

 however, it is an abundant winter visitor, accompanying the 

 enormous flocks of shore larks and other longspurs upon the 

 prairie and cultivated lands, and, during severe weather, resorting 

 to the towns, where they may be seen picking about the streets 

 with all the fearlessness and familiarity of sparrows. Neocorys 

 spraguei, of which the account is so meagre in the above- 

 mentioned book, is also very common with us, and from the fact 

 that it is only absent during the four months from May to 

 August inclusive, and that young birds in the nesting plumage 

 are common during the fall, it is probable that they do not go 

 much further north to breed. 



Among the woodpeckers I obtained one specimen of the red- 

 shafted western form of Colaptes auratus, and saw a second a 

 few days afterwards. This seems to be the most north-easterly 

 point where this form has been observed. 



Three varieties of the red-tailed hawk are found here, viz., 

 the eastern form typical Buteo horealis, which is common and resi- 

 dent ; the central or prairie form, B. krideri, which is the rarest ; 

 and the western melanistic form B. calurus, which, though agree- 

 ing with its eastern representative in general measurements, 

 differs in many respects in its habits. 



The above remarks will serve to show how curious and inter- 

 esting a mixture of the North American avifaunas meet together 

 in this district. 



In the following list I have adhered strictly to the synonymy 

 of the " Smithsonian Institution Catalogue of North American 



SciEN. Pjboc. E.D.S., Vol. iu., Pt. v. q 2 



