INTRODUCTORY NOTES. 139 



prosecution of zoological and botanical work, far more success attended 

 our efforts than ever before, since it was j^ossible to regulate our movements, 

 to a greater or less extent, according as the nature of the region traversed 

 afforded favorable or unfavorable opportunities for work. 



At Santa Fe, the point of our departure, a vexatious detention of nearly 

 three weeks was experienced at the outset, owing to an unavoidable delay in 

 means of transportation. This was the more disastrous, since it occurred 

 in June ; and being the time when nearly all the birds are breeding, a most 

 valuable opportunity was lost of learning the history of the birds at the most 

 interesting period of the year, as well as obtaining the nests and eggs of 

 many species of whose niditication nothing or next to nothing is known. 



The time here, however, was by no means lost, though the rather deso- 

 late barren foot-hills in the neighborhood of the town presented by no 

 means an attractive field to the ornithologist. Once on the road, we lost no 

 time in reaching Fort Wingate, N. M., and from there made speedy marches 

 to Camp Apache, Ariz., where the opportunities for ornithological work may 

 be said to have commenced in earnest. Our orders not allowing at this time 

 a more thorough research through the White Mountains of this region, a 

 section, it may be remarked in passing, possessed of much interest to the 

 ornithologist, and one which would amply repay a careful examination, a 

 few days only were spent here, perhaps the most important result being the 

 discovery of the Cardellina rubrifrons, a Mexican bird, thus ascertained to 

 be a resident of our territory, some point, not much if any, to the north of 

 here constituting probably its extreme northern limit. 



Keeping to the north, we crossed the Gila River at the same point as 

 on the previous season. As I had looked forward with great interest to the 

 study of the avifauna at this point, and had anticipated some valuable 

 developments with respect to the distribution of species, I was much disap- 

 pointed that circumstances made it necessary for us to proceed without 

 delay. 



A thorough study of the birds of the valley here would probably be 

 found to show that in its general character the avifauna approximates very 

 closely to the character of that of the Colorado Valley, and hence is much 

 more southern in its aspect than is the region immediately to the south, ami 



