80 
Brewster on Certain Rare Birds in Texas. 
on the nest. Five of these (the sixth is so badly broken as to be unavail- 
able for examination) measure, respectively, 1.00 x .71 ; .94 x .69 ; .99 x .69 ; 
1.00x.71; 1.00x.75. They are rounded-oval in shape; in color, clear 
ivory-white, with a rather high polish. The shell is so extremely thin that 
nearly every specimen was cracked in transportation, although they were 
carefully packed. They contained embryos of large size. The nesting-cavity 
was in a sandy bank near the water’s edge. The eggs were laid on the 
bare sand, no fish-bones or other extraneous material being near. The 
entrance was not quite If inches in diameter, and the hole extended in- 
ward from the face of the bank about 3^ feet. Another set of the eggs 
of this species, obtained in the same locality, May 25, 1878, is in Mr. Rick- 
secker’s cabinet. The four eggs constituting; this set differ from those 
taken by Mr. Werner in being creamy-white in color, with scarcely any 
perceptible polish. This, however, may be due to the fact that they were 
freshly laid. They measure, respectively, .93 x .72 ; .97 x .75 ; .95 x .71 ; 
.94 x .75, and are nearly elliptical in shape. 
5. Buteo zonocercus. Band-tailed Hawk. — This fine Buteo , 
which has previously been known only as a rare straggler into Arizona 
and Southern California from across the Mexican border, is now entitled 
to a place in the fauna of Texas upon the strength of a fine adult male 
preserved in Mr. Werner’s collection. Only two pairs were observed by 
Mr. Werner during his rambles, and he regards the species as of rare oc- 
currence in Comal County. On May 17, 1878, he had, however, the rare 
good fortune to secure a nest and set of eggs, which, if I am not mistaken, are 
the first authentic specimens known. The nest — a large, bulky structure, 
composed of coarse sticks, with a rather smooth lining of Spanish moss — 
was built in a cypress- tree on the banks of the Guadaloupe River. -It was 
placed on a large and nearly horizontal branch, about fifteen feet out from 
the main stem, and at least forty feet above the ground. It measures as 
follows : External diameter, 20 inches ; external depth, 6 inches ; internal 
diameter, 7 inches ; internal depth, 4 inches. The two eggs which it con- 
tained were slightly incubated. One is still preserved with the nest ; the 
other is in Mr. Ricksecker’s collection. The latter measures 2.09 x 1.55. 
It is marked with blotches of reddish-brown upon a dull white ground. 
These blotches occur most thickly about the larger end, where they tend 
to form a nearly confluent ring. In Mr. Werner’s specimen, which is simi- 
lar in color, the markings are most numerous around the smaller extremity. 
Its dimensions are 2.06 x 1.53. Although the parent birds belonging to 
this nest successfully eluded all attempts at capture, their identity can 
scarcely be doubted. As Mr. Werner was climbing to* their eyry, they 
swept down about his head, repeatedly passing within a few feet of him. 
As but a few days previously he had shot the specimen above referred to, 
it is not likely that he could have mistaken a species so distinctly marked. 
The two ashy tail-bands of the male, set off by its otherwise nearly uniform 
black plumage, are characters that even at a long distance would serve to 
distinguish it from any other Hawk. 
