93 



along the eastern flanks of the Cocopah Mountains 

 on April 1. Later, in the creosote tracts on the south- 

 western slopes of Pattie Basin, I frequently encoun- 

 tered small flocks feeding on the more or less bare 

 pebbly patches. Invariably I was armed only with 

 a rifle on such occasions, and so I obtained no speci- 

 mens. 



Otocoris alpestris pallida has been taken at Calexico, 

 in the Imperial Valley, in winter (Van Rossem, 1913, 

 132). 



84. Corvus corax sinuatus. Raven. — This species was ob- 



tained at the mouth of the Hardy by Rhoads. He, 

 as well as I, suspected the presence of C. cryptoleucus, 

 which might be expected to breed in these Lower 

 Sonoran deserts, but there are no specimens to estab- 

 lish the fact. 



Ravens were fairly common in April all along the 

 Hardy, and also in the ''arboreal desert" west of the 

 Pattie Basin, where they breed. We found a half- 

 completed nest on April 3, in an ironwood tree. On 

 the evening of April 7, I saw nearly a dozen of the 

 birds come to roost together in a compact clump o^ 

 half-dead mesquites growing on a huge mound. 



Rhoads's note on the Ravens is worth quoting: 

 *' While at Cocopah Major I was entertained by the 

 love antics and really wonderful medley of sounds 

 which a love-sick raven is able to make. Some of 

 these are truly melodious modulations of the so-called 

 'croak,' and run through quite a shce of the gamut. 

 In addition to this they can tumble, twist, dive, soar 

 and sport about the fleeting form of their mate with all 

 the abandon and daring of less sedate and more 

 elegant masters of the air." 



85. Corvus sp. — Rhoads observed crows, probably Corvus 



hrachyrhynchos hesperis. 



86. Molothrus ater obscurus. Dwarf Cowbird. — Fre- 



quently observed. Collected by Rhoads in the delta, 

 and by the writer on the western slopes of Pattie 



