[262] Apparently the very first intimation we have of the beautiful Finch which Audubon dedicated to Mr. Harris as Fringilla harrisii, as will be seen further on in his journal.
The other birds mentioned in the above text were all well-known species in 1843.—E. C.
[263] Black Snake Hills (in the vicinity of St. Joseph, Mo.). "On the 24th we saw the chain of the Blacksnake Hills, but we met with so many obstacles in the river that we did not reach them till towards evening. They are moderate eminences, with many singular forms, with an alternation of open green and wooded spots." (Maximilian, Prince of Wied, "Travels in North America," p. 123.)
[264] The measurements in pen and ink are marked over the writing of the journal. As already stated, this bird is Fringilla harrisii: Aud. B. of Am. vii., 1844, p. 331, pl. 484. It had previously been discovered by Mr. Thomas Nuttall, who ascended the Missouri with Mr. J. K. Townsend in 1834, and named by him F. querula in his Man. Orn. 2d ed. i., 1840, p. 555. Its modern technical name is Zonotrichia querula, though it continues to bear the English designation of Harris's Finch.—E. C.
[265] That is, the Green-backed or White-bellied Swallow, Hirundo bicolor of Vieillot, Tachycineta bicolor of Cabanis, and Iridoprocne bicolor of Coues.—E. C.
[266] The surmise proved to be correct; for this is the now well-known Bell's Vireo, Vireo bellii of Audubon: B. of Am. vii., 1844, p. 333, pl. 485.—E. C.
[267] No doubt the species named Brewer's Blackbird, Quiscalus brewerii of Audubon, B. of Am. vii., 1844, p. 345, pl. 492, now known as Scolecophagus cyanocephalus.—E. C.
[268] The Prairie Hare, Lepus virginianus of Richardson, Fauna Boreali-Americana, i., 1829, p. 229, later described as L. campestris by Bachman, Journ. Philad. Acad. vii., 1837, p. 349, and then described and figured as L. townsendii by Aud. and Bach., Quad. N.A. i., 1849, p. 25, pl. 3. This is the characteristic species of the Great Plains, where it is commonly called "Jack-rabbit."—E. C.
[269] Not a good species, but the dusky variety of the protean Western Fox Squirrel, Sciurus ludovicianus; for which, see a previous note.—E. C.
[270] Or Bellevue, in what is now Sarpy County, Neb., on the right bank of the Missouri, a few miles above the mouth of the Platte.—E. C.