412 BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. [YolY. 



CrotopMga semisulcata, Swains., "Anim. inMenag., 183-, p, 346."— Gray, Gen. 



of B. ii, 184- p. 458.— Bp., Consp. Av. i, 1850, p. 99. 

 Croiopliaga sulcata, Light., "Mus. Berol." 

 Croiophaga casasH, Less., Voy. Coquille, Zool. i, pt. ii, p. 619. — Less., Cent. Zool. 



1830, pi. 9.— Less., Tr. Orn. 1831, p. 130.— Tschudi, Consp. Av. , p. — . 



— Tschudi, Fn. Per., Ornith., 1845-46, pp. 41, 256. 

 Crotophaya casassi, Less., Man. Orn. ii, 1828, p. 11. 

 Hab.— Texas to Peru. — E. C] 



Sp. Ch. (of my Lomita specimen). — Face naked. Bill atthe nostrils .85 liigi, .37 broad 

 (more than twice as Mgh as broad) ; nostrils about as in C. ani. Gonys straight. Cul- 

 men curved from base. Upper mandible with three distinct grooves i>arallel to cnlmen. 

 Legs stout, tarsus equal to middle toe and claw, the scutellos much the same as in 

 C. ani. The 5th quill of wing is longest; 4th only a little shorter; 3d .20 of an 

 inch from point ; 2d .85 from j)oint, and 1st 1.90 from point. The tail is gradu- 

 ated, the outer quills about 1.75 inches shorter than the middle ones. The color 

 generally is black, with violet steel-blue reflections botli above and below, with an olive- 

 brown tinge on belly. The pointed feathers of head and neck metallic reddish-bronze ; 

 those of breast, back, and wing-coverts metallic green. Iris brown. Bill black, Avith 

 gray scales on culmen. Feet black, with grayish scales in patches. Length 14.50 ; 

 extent 17.00; wing 5.60; tail 7.50; whole bill 1.20, from nostril .80; tarsus 1.40= 

 middle toe and claw. 



I have the pleasure of introducing tliis species to our fauna. Until 

 within a few years its habitat was only known to be Yucatan, Central 

 and South America. The explorations of Grrayson, Xantus, Bischoff, 

 and Sumichrast, between the years 1805 and 1871, discovered it to be in 

 Southern and Western Mexico, Mazatlan being the most northern i^oint, 

 to the best of my knowledge, of its record. 



A fine adult male of this species was shot May 19 at Lomita while 

 flying about the low bushes in open chaparral. It was very shy, flying 

 in and about the bushes, and was shot on the wing. The appearance of 

 its feet indicates that it was not in the habit of being much upon the 

 ground. 



The accounts of the breeding habits of the genus Grotojpliaga* are as 

 incomplete and conflicting as those of other members of the family, 

 notably the genera Geococcyx and Coccygus. Colonel Grayson's notes on 

 the habits of this bird, observed at Mazatlan, being the best at my com- 

 mand, I quote him in full from Mr. Lawrence's " Birds of Western and, 

 i!^orth-western Mexico," page 292. 



" This is a common species in this locality, and throughout western 

 tierra caUente. They associate in small flocks of eight or ten, and are 

 fond of picking the ticks off the cattle. It does not migrate. The nest 

 is usually built in a thorny tree or bush, at a moderate height, and com- 



[*The curious reader will find something of interest upon the subject in Sir Wm. 

 Jarduie's Horse Zoologicse, Nos. I and II, printed in the Ann. Nat. Hist, iv, 1839, pp. 

 160-171, figg. 1, 2, and iv, 1840, pp. 318-322; reprinted in Oken's Isis, Bd. xxxvii, 

 1844, pp. 913-918, under the title : Ueber das Betragen der Kielschnabel (Keel-Bils, 

 Crotophaga). — Also, in Prof. Eoinhardt's treatise entitled: ''BeniiErkninger om 

 Eedebygningen og Fortplantning&forholdene hos Crotophagft-Slsegten"; Kj0beuhavn, 

 8vo, pp. 31; Aft. af Kgl. dansk. Yidensk.-Selsk. Forh. Jan. 1860. — E. C] 



