444 ROCK WREN. 
after a lapse of a few minutes you begin to hear a low cautious chirp, 
and the next moment, at the head of the ravine, the old female pro- 
bably again appears, scolding and jerking in the most angry attitudes 
she is capable of assuming. In the same rocky retreats they are com- 
monly accompanied by a kind of small striped Ground Squirrel, like 
that of the eastern coast in many respects, but much smaller. These 
little animals, which are numerous, the ‘\Vhite-chinned Buzzard, Buteo 
eulgaris of RicHaRrpson and Swatnson, and the Raven frequently hover 
over and pounce upon. We met with this species as far west as the 
lowest falls of the Columbia, or within a few miles of Fort Van Couver, 
but among rocks and cliffs as usual.” 
TROGLODYTES OBSOLETA, Say- 
MyorHera oBsoLeta, Ch. Bonap. Amer. Ornith. vol. i. p. 6, pl. 1, fig. 2. 
Rocxy Mountarn Wren, Nuttall, Manual, vol. i. p. 435. 
Adult Female. Plate CCCLX. Fig. 4. 
Bill nearly as long as the head, slender, slightly arched, compressed 
toward the end; upper mandible with the sides convex towards the end, 
flat and declinate at the base, the edges sharp and overlapping, with a 
very slight notch close to the declinate tip; lower mandible with the 
angle long and narrow, the dorsal line very slightly concave, the sides 
sloping outwards and concave, the tip narrow. Nostrils oblong, basal, 
with a cartilaginous operculum, open and bare. 
Head oblong ; neck short; body slender. Legs of ordinary length; 
tarsus longer than the middle toe, compressed, with eight anterior dis- 
tinct scutella, and two lateral plates forming a sharp edge behind. 
Toes of moderate size, the third and fourth united at the base, the first 
large, the outer considerably longer than the inner. Claws rather 
long, moderately arched, much compressed, with an abruptly tapering, 
very acute tip. 
Plumage soft and loose. Wings of moderate length, convex, broad 
and rounded ; the first quill very short, the second a quarter of an inch 
shorter than the third; the fourth longest, but scarcely exceeding the 
third and fifth. Tail rather long, much rounded, of twelve broad, 
rounded feathers. 
Bill dusky, with the edges pale yellow. Iris hazel. Feet dusky. 
Upper parts light dull yellowish-brown, and, excepting the r ump, 
Se ee nt ee Se EE eee eee ee 
