m'CAULEY on birds of THK EED river of TEXAS. 65T 



the rainy season from San Antonio to Santa Fe was staked oat by some 

 Mexicans, whence came the name "Llano Estacado", or Staked Plain. 

 No stakes have ever been found bj'^ early or late explorers, bat the tra- 

 dition remains, and the name of that section has become established. 

 It was after a heavy rain that the crossing from Fort Bascom, New 

 Mexico, was safely made by General Gregg and his command in 1872. 

 Their longest march between water was 30 miles, a wearisome trip, in- 

 deed, with no living thing of any kind or natarein sight. How invaluable 

 are the services of a guide on such an occasion may well be imagined. 

 On encamping at water-holes, we found great numbers of birds, un- 

 doubtedly temporarily attracted by the water's presence. In the vicinity 

 of the canons, in which were the streams tributary to the Red River,, 

 the edge of the plain is cut up by short side-canons, worn by the drain- 

 age during many successive rainy seasons. These are familiarly known 

 as the " breaks " by the scouts, and are recognizable at great distances by 

 the mirages that can be seen hanging above them. In the immediate vi- 

 cinity of "breaks", and on short lines some miles away, are found the 

 Southwestern Larks {JEremophUa alpestris chrysolcema) in great numbers 

 and Western Night Hawks {Chordeiles virginianus lienryi) in abundance, 

 and the only species I noticed venturing out upon the desert. No 

 transition could be greater than that from the general level of the plain 

 to the bottom of the cafions. The edges are steep and rocky, and the 

 crossing by train often impossible save at long intervals. In these cafions, 

 nature almost completely hides the streams with luxuriant vegetation, 

 as if to make amends for her barrenness above, and fills the trees with 

 life and song. As the streams descend, their canon-beds gradually 

 enlarge to that of the main stream, which at some places is several 

 miles broad with a depth of 800 feet, whilst the river-bed itself is not 

 over 500 yards wide. Seen from the plain above, the course of the river 

 looks like a huge ribbon of white, incrusted as it is with alkali, glis- 

 tening and reflecting hot rays. As the water, i)ure above, in its downward 

 course passes over the gypsum strata, it becomes strongly impregnated. 

 Among the species observed in such places were the Carolina Dove 

 {Zenaidura carolinenis), Killdeer {JEJgialitis vocifera), Mockingbird 

 {Mimus ])olyglottiis), and a few Quail {Ortyx virginiana). At long inter- 

 vals are found, at the head of some side-canon leading up from the main 

 stream, little rills gushing out from near the summit of- the plain, hun- 

 dreds of feet above, looking like mountain-brooks as they descend, tum- 

 bling over rocks in mimic falls, with the water fresh and sparkling, all 

 to be lost a mile or two from its source, sunken in the sand before reach- 

 ing the river below. The localities in which the collector is best repaid 

 for his pains are the upper parts of the Palo Duro, Tierra Blanca, and 

 the lower and well-wooded portions of streams of good water, before 

 they empty into the main river, such as the North Fork, McClellan and 

 Mulberry Creeks, etc. 



Should the paucity of species as presented in the report be deemed 



