14 BIRDS OF SOUTHWESTERN MEXICO. 



" Iris brown ; upper mandible brownisb-black, lower light bluish- 

 fleshy ; feet light-brown." 



"One of the indigenous birds, the most dispersed in the woody locali- 

 ties on the west of the isthmus, and the only sylvicoline wren that I 

 have there met with up to this time. Endowed with extreme vivacity, 

 it is continually in motion, running along the ground and climbing the 

 shrubs and creepers, in search of insects; and this occupation is always 

 enlivened by the cries of pleasure or the animated trills of the male 

 bird, which reveal his distant position in the interior of the wood. 

 Besides, it is quite tame, and may be easily approached ; the report of a 

 gun, even, does not appear to frighten it much. In very woody spots, 

 several couples of them are often seen devoting themselves with ardor 

 to the chase, or busy carrying materials destined for the construction 

 of their nests. This nest, made with skill, is woven with dry grasses, 

 whose stems are fine and elastic. It has the form of a retort, and is 

 fixed horizontally around the stem of a bush, often at the fork of two 

 branches. From the beginning of May to the middle of July, I have 

 found these nests, containing from 3 to 5 eggs of a beautiful greenish- 

 blue color, clear, and of a diameter of about 22 millimeters. The bottom 

 of the nest, where the eggs rest, is lined with hairs, mingled with the 

 fine down of certain seeds of Bomhaceesy 



20. Thryotho]i[*ii§ toe^rickii var. leuco§^aster, Baird. 



"Puente Colorado; August, 1868. 

 " Iris brown ; bill and feet dusky." 



Fam. MOTACIIililD^. 



21. Antlm^ ludovicianus (Gm.). 

 " Tehuantepec City ; November, 1869. 



" Bill blackish; base of lower mandible dull yellowish; feet brownish.'^ 



Fam. II]lI©Tir.Tfl>iE. 



22. 8eiiiru^ auricapOtus (Linn.). 

 "Tehuantepec (Guichicovi) ; September, 1869. 



" Iris brown ; upper mandible blackish-brown, lower and feet light- 

 fleshy." 



23. I§eiurus noTeboraceiisis (Gm.). 

 " Tehuantepec (Tapana) ; April, 1869. 



"Iris brown; bill black; base of lower mandible paler; feet light- 

 brown." 



