22 RIDGWAY ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 



throat). Several of these birds were met with among the weeds 

 and undergrowth in the western part of the city, March 26th. 



85. Setophaga ruticilla (Linn.). [American Redstart). 

 A few were seen March 26th, fifteen miles west of Corpus Christi. 

 They were in dull plumage. No bright males were seen. 



86. Mimus polyglottos (Linn.). [Mockingbird'). On my 

 arrival at Corpus Christi I was pleased to find the Mockingbird 

 common. Its principal resort was among the chapparral, mesquite 

 bushes, and brush fences which surrounded the Mexican farms on 

 the western outskirts of the city. Many were seen in and about 

 the town; they were also met with remote from human habitation. 



Seldom do the Mockingbirds build a new nest; they generally 

 reconstruct the one which was used the previous year. It is quite 

 remarkable that the nests, which are composed mostly of mesquite 

 and chaparral twigs, are but little distorted or broken by the storms 

 and remain quite well preserved the year around. Their durability 

 is in part due to the toughness of the material used and to the spines 

 which project from the twigs, making the nests almost indestructible. 



S7. Harporhynchus longirostris (Lafr.). [Long-billed 

 Thrasher). The morning after my arrival at Galveston I observed 

 a bird of this species in a China tree in the heart of the city. 



On March 21st two birds were seen about six miles west of 

 Corpus Christi among the ebony trees. Their wary habits would 

 not allow us to approach within gun shot. April 8th a male and 

 female, together with the nest, which contained three eggs, were 

 taken two miles west of the city. The nest was built a few feet 

 from the ground in a chaparral bush. 



88. Thryothorus bewickii bairdi (Salv. & Godm.). 

 [Baird^s Wren). While on a camping tour March 27th a male and 

 a female of this species were taken. The incident relative to their 

 capture I will quote from my note book : " While my assistant was 

 engaged in the preparation of our dinner I busied myself taking 

 a stroll to the oak timber which grew quite abundantly a few yards 

 from the camp. On entering the woods the notes of the male were 

 heard in the top branches of a tall oak just a little to the left of the 

 spot in which I was standing. A faint chattering sound was first 

 noticed, then it became louder and harsher until I traced its source 

 to the top branches, where, almost concealed by the thick foliage, 

 the bird's form could be seen while hopping from twig to twig. 

 From this position the specimen was shot, and I had no sooner laid 

 it in my basket than the same chattering note greeted my ears from 



