370 



M. Boucard for the energetic way in which he has worked out the 

 ornithology of Southern Mexico ; and, taking his discoveries in con- 

 nexion with those of M. Salle himself, Signor Botteri, and Senor R. 

 M. de Oca, we may soon hope to attain a tolerably perfect know- 

 ledge of the aspect of the Avi-fauna of this region. 



Totontepec, Teotalcingo, Choapam, &c, are villages of more or 

 less importance, as M. Salle informs me, situated in the mountains of 

 Oaxaca, in the district of Villa Alta. Playa Vicente is a rancheria 

 consisting of a group of cabins of bamboo, situated on the confines 

 of the three States of Vera Cruz, Oaxaca, and Tehuantepec on the 

 borders of the Rio Tesechoacan at the foot of the mountains of 

 Oaxaca in the hot country (tierra caliente). Here the river first 

 becomes navigable ; and at this point, during the war of Indepen- 

 dence, the cochineals of Oaxaca destined for Europe were embarked 

 for transportation to Alvarado, the port on the Gulf of Mexico. 



Fain. Turd ice. 



1. Catharus melpomene, Cab. 

 Totontepec (Jan.). 



2. Catharus occidentalis, Sclater, P. Z. S. 1859, p. 323. 



Totontepec (Jan.). Described, from the specimens contained in 

 this collection, in my Review of the Turdidce (antea, p. 321), where 

 the synonymy and characters of all the species of this family are 

 given. 



3. Turdus infuscatus, Lafr. R. Z. 1844, p. 41. 

 Totontepec (Jan.). 



4. Turdus grayii, Bp. 

 Choapam and Villa Alta. 



5. Turdus asstmilis, Cab. 



Juquila and Teotalcingo. Rather darker in plumage than speci- 

 mens from Jalapa, and so resembling somewhat the Guatemalan T. 

 leucauchen. Eggs of this bird from Oaxaca are like pale varieties of 

 those of our Blackbird (Turdus merula), being of a pale-greenish 

 white, spotted and freckled with two shades of rufous. They mea- 

 sure l'l by 0*75. 



6. Caleoscoptes carolinensis (Linn.). 

 Totontepec and Playa Vicente. 



7. Melanotis cerulescens (Sw.) ; anted, p. 337. 

 Talea, Juquila, Villa Alta (Jan.), and Totontepec (Feb.). 



8. Harporhynchus curvirostris (Sw.) ; P.Z.S. 1859, p. 339. 



Oaxaca. Females are not so much variegated on the breast. The 

 bird seems to agree with Eastern Mexican specimens. 



