BIRDS — CAPRIMULGIDAE — CHORDEILES TEXENSIS. 
155 
above may be described as a mixed gray, yellowish rusty, black, and brown in varied mottlings. 
The top of the head is rather uniformly brown, with a few mottlings of grayish rusty, although 
the concealed portion of the feathers is much varied. On the nape is a finely mottled collar of 
grayish and black, not very conspicuously defined, and rather interrupted on the median line. 
A similar collar is seen on the fore part of the breast. The middle of the back and the rump 
exhibit a coarser mottling of the same without any rufous. The scapulars and wing coverts are 
beautifully variegated, much as in some of the waders, the pattern very irregular and scarcely 
capable of definition. There are, however, a good many large round spots of pale yellowish 
rusty, very conspicuous among the other markings. There is quite a large blotch of white on 
the wing, situated considerably nearer the tip than the carpal joint. It only involves four 
primaries and extends across both outer and inner webs. The four first primaries anterior to 
the white blotches, and the remaining ones, nearly from their tips, exhibit a series of large 
round rufous spots not seen in the other North American species. The other wing quills have 
also similar markings. There is a large V-shaped white mark on the throat, as in G. virginianus, 
though rather larger proportionally. Posterior to this there are some rather conspicuous 
blotches of rufous, behind which is the obscure finely mottled collar of gray and brown already 
referred to. The breast and remaining under parts are dull white transversely banded with 
brown, with a strong tinge of yellowish rufous on the abdomen, about the vent, and on the 
under tail coverts. The tail is dark brown with about eight transverse bars of lighter ; the 
last are white and extending across both vanes ; the others less continuous, and yellowish rufous 
beneath as well as above, especially on the inner vane. 
There is some variation in different specimens, especially as to the intensity of the rufous 
tints. The Santa Caterina specimen is larger than those from the lower Rio Grande, while 
No. 6010, from El Paso, is considerably larger than either, the wing measuring 7^ inches. 
There is, however, no other appreciable difference. 
The females differ, as far as indicated by the specimens before me, chiefly in lacking the white 
spot on the tail. The throat spot is rather smaller, but is almost pure white. The rufous 
markings are rather deeper. 
This species is readily distinguished from G. virginianus by its much smaller size, four prima- 
ries crossed with white, instead of five, the round rufous spots on the wing quills, the rufous 
tinge on the abdomen, and other characters. It, however, seems to present parallel variations 
of color and size with those described under G. virginianus. 
I am unable to say whether the subject of the present article be really distinct or not from G. 
sapiti, of Bonaparte, and G. brasilianus, of Gmelin. As Mr. Lawrence has given it a new name, 
1 have adopted it provisionally, leaving the final decision to be made by some one having the 
proper materials before him. 
List of specimens. 
Catal. 
No. 
Locality. 
When col- 
lected. 
Whence obtained. Orig'l 
No. 
Collected by- 
Length. 
Stretch 
of wings. 
Remarks. 
395 1 
6009 
601U 
6012 
6010 
4578? 
Santa Catarina, Mexico. .. 
Ringgold barracks, Texas. 
Aug. —,1853 
July —,1853 
Lieut. Couch, U. S. A.. 
Major Emory, U. S. A.. 
1 
8.75 
19.00 
7.00 
6.80 
Eyes blue black; bill 
black ; feet purple. 
6.70 
6.80 
6.90 
Colorado river, California. 
,1,, 
