Jan., 1905 | 
THE CONDOR 
25 
Melopelia leucoptera. White-winged Dove. The Sonora dove of the natives. 
By far the most abundant bird in the mesquite forest, and also the most conspicu- 
ous and noisy. Though not particularly gregarious, at least not at this time of the 
year, white-winged doves were to be seen in all parts of the forest though but 
seldom out on the mesa; and while rarely out of sight, they were never out of 
hearing. The coo of this bird has been aptly compared to the sounds produced by 
a young cockerel just beginning to crow, and while this conveys some idea of the 
gasping, choking, disconnected nature of the outcry, no description can do justice 
to the effect produced by the united effort of thousands at once. They were not 
quite so noisy toward noon, during the heat of the day, but the noise they made 
morning and evening was such as to almost entirely drown the notes of the other 
birds; after a little the continual rumble they made, forming, as it were, a sort of 
back ground to the other sounds, was hardly noticed by us, except when some per- 
formers started to tune up near at hand. Judging from the individuals I watched, 
it seemed to call for considerable physical exertion for them to discharge themselves 
of the music with which their souls w r ere burdened. 
A good many nests of this species were found, but nothing in proportion to 
the number of birds seen, and I am quite sure that the bulk of them were not 
breeding at this time. Many specimens of both sexes were taken that certainly 
were not. The nests were usually built rather low down, from five to twenty feet 
above the ground, generally below fifteen feet; and apparently with no attempt at 
concealment. When the female was flushed from the nest she usually fluttered 
away, simulating a broken wing, as the mourning dove does. Unfinished nests 
were found, and others containing young nearly ready to fly. Male birds, pre- 
sumably, were occasionally seen circling about with wings and tail rigidly out- 
spread, as the band-tailed pigeon does in the breeding season; but I never heard 
them make any such peculiar noise as the larger bird does at such times. 
Columbigallina p. pallescens. Mexican Ground Dove. Fairly abundant 
about the cultivated fields and in the pastures, and also in the more open places in 
the mesquites. None were seen in the thicker parts of the forest. The curious 
note so out of proportion to the size of the bird was occasionally heard, but not 
often, as they had not yet commenced to breed. They were usually found in 
small bunches of four or five, often whirring up from the grass or weeds in nearly 
as startling a manner as so many quail. It is rather singular that while quite a 
good many of the Inca dove {Scardafella inca ) were seen about the streets of 
Tucson, and in corrals and gardens, not a single one was met with anywhere out- 
side of the town. 
Cathartes aura. Turkey Vulture. Seen flying about overhead occasionally. 
Accipiter cooperi. Cooper Hawk. In May, 1902, Mr. O. W. Howard and 
myself secured two sets of eggs of this species in this region. On my second visit 
to the mesquites none of the birds were seen, though there were probably some 
about for all that. 
Parabuteo u. harrisi. Harris Hawk. On May 23, 1902 I vainly pursued an 
individual of this species that lit on a tree near our camp. It was the only one I 
saw in this region. 
Buteo b. calurus. Western Red-tail. One or two seen. A few nests of this 
species were seen on limbs of the giant cactuses on the mesa, but I think they are 
far more abundant along the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains, on the other 
side of the valley. 
Buteo swainsoni. Swainson Hawk. One or two seen along the Santa 
