Dr. Heermann met with the first specimen of this bird in a dry cañon, a little to the east of the crossing of San Pedro River. It was perched on a bush, seemed wearied and lost, and was probably a wanderer. No more were seen until he reached El Paso. There he found it everywhere among the hedges and trees, and continued to meet with it occasionally on his road, until his party left civilization behind. It erects its crest as it moves actively about in search of food, and utters at intervals a clear, plaintive whistle, varied by a few detached notes. Mr. Dresser considers this species rather a straggler from Mexico than as a Texan bird. Near Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras he found it abundant, but it became scarce as soon as he travelled a few miles into Texas. He saw none north or east of the Leona. He was told that quantities breed near Eagle Pass, and he saw not a few in cages that had been reared from the nest. He found it a shy bird, and difficult to shoot. When followed, it flies about uneasily, perching on the top of some high bush, and erecting its long crest, uttering a clear, plaintive whistle. Sometimes it would take to the thick brushwood and creep through the bushes so that it was impossible to get a shot at it. On the Lower Rio Grande it was of uncommon occurrence. He noticed a single pair near Matamoras in August, 1864. Captain McCown, in his account of this species, published by Cassin, writes that, so far as seen on the Rio Grande, this handsome species appeared to have a strong partiality for damp and bushy woods. So far as he observed, it never ventured far from the river. He was under the impression that this bird remains in Texas all the year, having met with it so late in the fall and again so early in the spring, that, if not constantly resident, its migrations must be very limited. He describes it as a gay, sprightly bird, generally seen in company with others of the same species, frequently erecting its crest and calling to its mate or comrades. It is rather shy, and not easily approached. In its voice and general habits it appeared to him very similar to the common species. The eggs of this species are of an oval shape, one end being only a little less rounded than the other. Their average measurement is one inch in length by .80 in breadth. Their ground-color is a dull chalky-white, over which are distributed well-defined blotches of a light umber-brown, and also a number of indistinct markings of purple. The spots are pretty uniform in these colors, but vary greatly in size and distribution. In some eggs they largely consist of fine dots, in others they are in bold blotches. In some the brown is more confluent and the effect that of a deeper shade. GENUS CARDINALIS, BONAP. _Cardinalis_, BONAPARTE, Saggio di una distribuzione metod. dei Animagli Vertebrati, 1831 (Agassiz). (Type, _Loxia cardinalis_, LINN.) [Line drawing: _Cardinalis virginianus._ 4030]