44 BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



locality was a saDcly ridge, dividing a lake from the salt-marslies. The 

 eggs were perfectly fresh. The shape is like those of Harris's Buzzard 

 {Buteo harrisi) 5 but for a tendency to be pointed at one end, would be 

 a broad oval. They are pure chalky-white. One of them had very 

 faint flecks of yellowish-brown scattered sparsely over it. The other 

 was without any. Both of them have a few longitudinal creases. One 

 measures 2.40 by 1.90, and tlie other 2.38 by 1.90. 

 PoLYBORUS THAEUS AUDUBONi, (Cass.) Eidg. — Auduboii's Caracara. 



On my way down the coast, I saw this bird for the first time at Cor- 

 pus Christi, and again on the northern end of Padre Island. But not 

 until I came near the slaughter-houses near Brownsville did I find it 

 very abundant. There, at almost any time in the day, numbers can be 

 seen with the Vultures, feeding upon the ofl'al. When not feeding, they 

 were seen in pairs, on the ground or low dead stubs, and were quite 

 tame. Their flight is low at this season as they skim over the top of 

 the chaparral and among the mezquite groves. I did not see them cir- 

 cling and sailing to great heights, as they are said to do. They walk, 

 run, and hop readily, as I learned when chasing a winged bird through 

 the thorns and thickets. I never heard them utter a cry of any kind. 

 The sexes are alike, and it takes several years to acquire their full 

 plumage; hence the majority of the birds are yellowish-brown. Consid- 

 ering the number of birds, it is surprising how few nests are found. I 

 spent much valuable time in search for them, but without success. Dr. 

 Merrill, however, was more fortunate. His familiarity with country and 

 birds gave him a great advantage, and through his kindness I got chance 

 at a nest. We together took a set of two from the nest. He afterward 

 gave me the set. This nest was composed of sticks and a few leaves, and 

 rested on the branches of a sapling only about nine or ten feet from the 

 ground. This small tree was one of a clump which stood under larger 

 trees, and was so slender that great care had to be taken not to shake out 

 the eggs in getting to them. It was bulky, and with but little depression. 

 One of the eggs is round at one end and inclined to be pointed at the other; 

 the other is quite double-rounded. The ground-color is a rich cinnamon- 

 brown. They are blotched with reddish-brown in great irregular clusters 

 over the whole egg, and on these are small black blotches. My two eggs 

 measure 2.30 by 1.85 and 2.15 by 1.82. A pair given Mr. Webster are 

 2.40 by 1.86 and 2.32 by 1.85. 



83—^ ad. —21.50 x 48.50 x 15.25 x 9.00. Mar, 26, Brownsville. 



99— 5 ad. —23.00 x 49.50 x 15.25 x 8.25. Mar. 27, Brownsville. 



100—^ jun.— 22.00 x 47.50 x 14.25 x 7.75. Mar. 27, Brownsville. 



101— $ —22.00 X 49.00 X 15.00 X 7.25. Mar. 27, Brownsville. 



102— 5 jun.— 23.00 x 48.50 x 15.50 x 8.00. Mar. 27^ Brownsville. 



CATHAETID^. 

 Cathartes aura, (X.) III. — TurJcey Buzzard. 



Abundant, but not so much so as Cathartes atratus, Black Vulture. At 

 Hidalgo, two sets of eggs were found in the open woodland on the bare 



