278 BIRDS OF WESTERISr AND 



tidal mark — was discovered ; but for this incident we might have suffered greatly, long before the necessary 

 article could have been found by us, as any one would have taken it to be sea-water which flows and ebbs to 

 it, had we not seen our little friend in the act of drinking. No other water was discovered, although it 

 doubtless exists in other places on the Island." 



81. Pyrgisoma rubricatum Cab. 



" xantusii Baird, Ann. Lye. N. Y., viii., p. 480. 



Mazatlan, Grayson, Xantus ; Plains of Colima, Xantus. 



"Not an abundant species, although not an uncommon one in this locality. Inhabits chiefly the woods ; 

 resident all the year. I found it also in Tepic and San Bias regions." 



82. Chondestes grammaca (Say). 

 Mazatlan, Grayson ; Plains of Colima, Xantus. 



" Arrives in September and departs in April ; common.'' 



83. Garpodacus frontalis (Say). 

 Guadalajara, Grayson. 



"I found this species in the city of Durango in February, in Guadalajara in May, and in Tepic in Decem- 

 ber, May and June. It breeds in these localities ; it does not visit the coast region." 



84. Chrysomitris psaltria var. mexicana Sw. 



" " Proc. Bost. Soc. of N. H., xiv, p. 282. 



Tres Marias Islands, Grayson. 



Fam. Alaudid^. 



85. Otocoris alpestris var. chrysolcema (Wagl.). 



" " Finsch, Abh. nat. Ver. zu Bremen, 1870, p. 341. 



Mazatlan, Grayson. 



Fam. IcTEEiD^. 



86. Cassiculus melanicterus (Bp.). 



" " Finsch, Abh. nat. Ver. zu Bremen, 1870, p. 363. 



Mazatlan, Grayson, BischoiF; Tepic, Grayson; Plains of Colima, Rio de Coahuana, 

 Xantus. 



" An abundant and common species and a constant resident ; it is well distributed throughout the woods 

 of the tierra caliente. They associate in flocks of from ten to thirty. Their long pensile nests are sometimes 

 three or four feet in length. I found it equally abundant in Tehuantepec, but none in the Tres Marias 

 Islands. 



"It does not migrate except from one part of the forest to another. The Long-tailed Jay (Oolacifta 

 collmi) frequently accompanies them in their perambulations through the woods in quest of their insect prey, 

 or various kinds of fruit upon which they subsist. 



"Among the many curious objects which meet the eye of the traveller in the tropical regions of Western 

 Mexico, are the long pendant nests he sees swaying in the breeze, attached to a small twig and frequently 

 overhanging the path he is travelling. These are the nests of the Double-crested Oriole. Beneath the wide- 

 spreading branches of the mimosa, acacia, higuero, or any large tree that affords an ample shade, may often 

 be seen as many as half a dozen of these firmly woven structures, suspended in the air and moved by the 

 slightest breeze. The material of M'hich they are composed is generally a very long, coarse and tough grass, 



