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Birds of this section have a somewhat thrush-like appearance, but (except in Oreoscoptes) with longer, much more graduated, and broader tail; short concave wings, about equal to or shorter than the tail, usually lengthened, sometimes decurved bill without notch, and strongly marked scutellæ on the anterior face of the tarsus. The loral feathers are soft, and not ending in bristly points. The colors are dull shades of brown, gray, or plumbeous. Most of the species, in addition to a melodious native song, possess the power of imitating the notes of other birds; sometimes, as in the American Mocking Bird, to an eminent degree. All are peculiar to the New World, and the species are much less vagrant than those of the Turdinæ,—those of the United States scarcely going beyond its northern boundary; others, again, restricted to small islands in the West Indies or in the Pacific Ocean.

Genus OREOSCOPTES, Baird

Oreoscoptes, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 346. (Type Orpheus montanus, Towns.)

Oreoscoptes, Baird, Rev. Am. Birds, 42.

Oreoscoptes montanus.

8129

Sp. Char. Bill shorter than the head, without distinct notch. Bristles prominent, their tips reaching beyond the nostrils. Wings pointed, equal to, or a little longer than the tail. First quill not half the second, about two fifths the longest; third, fourth, and fifth quills equal and longest; second between sixth and seventh. Tail but slightly graduated; the feathers narrow. Tarsus longer than middle toe and claw by an additional claw; scutellæ distinct anteriorly.

Of this genus only one species is at present known. This belongs to the Middle and Western provinces of the United States and extends from the Pacific coast eastward to Fort Laramie and the Black Hills (in winter to San Antonio, Texas); south to Fort Yuma and Cape St. Lucas.

Oreoscoptes montanus, Baird

SAGE THRASHER; MOUNTAIN MOCKER

Orpheus montanus, Townsend, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. VII, II, 1837, 192.—Aud. Birds Amer. II, 1841, 194, pl. cxxxix. Turdus montanus, Aud. Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 437, pl. ccclxix, fig. 1. Mimus montanus, Bonap. Consp. 1850, 276. Oreoscoptes montanus, Baird, Birds N. Amer. 1858, 347; Rev. Am. B. 1864, 42.—Sclater, P. Z. S. 1859, 340.—Ib. Catal. 1861, 8, No. 30.—Cooper, Birds Cal. 1, 12.

Sp. Char. First quill rather shorter than the sixth. Tail slightly graduated. Above brownish-ash; each feather obsoletely darker in the centre. Beneath dull white, thickly marked with triangular spots, except on the under tail-coverts and around the anus, which regions are tinged with yellowish-brown. Wing-coverts and quills edged with dull white. Tail feathers brown; the outer edged, and all (except, perhaps, the middle) tipped with white. Length, 8 inches; wing, 4.85; tail, 4.00; tarsus, 1.21.

Young. Similar, but spots beneath less sharply defined, and the upper parts quite conspicuously streaked with dusky.

Hab. Rocky Mountains of United States, west to Pacific, south to Cape St. Lucas.

Oreoscoptes montanus.

The careful observations of Mr. Robert Ridgway have led him to the conviction that the name bestowed upon this species of “Mountain Mocking-Bird” is doubly a misnomer. It is not at all imitative in its notes, and it is almost exclusively a resident of the artemisia plains. It seems to be chiefly confined to the great central plateau of North America, from Mexico almost to Washington Territory. Specimens have been procured from Cape St. Lucas, the Lower Colorado, Mexico, and Texas, on the south, and Nuttall met with it nearly as far north as Walla-Walla. It probably occupies the whole extent of the Great Basin.

Dr. Kennerly, who met with it while crossing the arid mesas west of the Rio Grande, says that while singing it was usually perched upon some bush or low tree. It was frequently seen seeking its food upon the ground, and when approached, instead of flying away, it ran very rapidly, and disappeared among the low bushes.

During the winter months it was observed near San Antonio, Texas, by Mr. Dresser; and was also found by him to be common about Eagle Pass. He noticed the same peculiarity of their running instead of their flying away when disturbed. They preferred the flat, bush-covered plains. A few remained to breed, as he obtained the eggs there, although he did not himself meet with one of the birds in summer.

It is generally represented as keeping chiefly on the ground, and obtaining its food in this position. General Couch speaks of it as Sparrow-like in its habits.

Mr. Nuttall describes its song as cheering, and the notes of which it is composed as decidedly resembling those of the Brown Thrush (Harporhynchus rufus). He claims for it some of the imitative powers of the Mocking-Bird (Mimus polyglottus), but in this he is not supported by the observations of others. He met with its nest in a wormwood (Artemisia) bush on the border of a ravine; it contained four eggs of emerald green, spotted with dark olive, the spots being large, roundish, and more numerous at the larger end. The nest was composed of small twigs and rough stalks, and lined with strips of bark and bison-wool. The female flew off to a short distance, and looked at her unwelcome visitors without uttering any complaint.

The nests of this bird, so far as I have seen them, are all flat, shallow structures, with very slight depression, and loosely and rudely constructed of an intermingling of strips of bark with rootlets and the finer stems of herbaceous plants. Their eggs, usually four in number, do not vary essentially in size, shape, or marking. They measure 1 inch in length, and from .73 to .75 in breadth. Their ground color is a bright greenish-blue, marked with deep olive-brown spots, intermingled with blotches of a light lilac. There are slight variations in the proportion of green in the shade of the ground color, and also in the number and size of the spots, but these variations are unimportant.

The following are Mr. Ridgway’s observations upon the habits of this species. They are full, valuable, and very carefully made:—

The Oreoscoptes montanus is a bird peculiar to the artemisia wastes of the Great Basin, being a characteristic species of the region between the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains. It is exclusively an inhabitant of the “sage brush,” and is partial to the lower portions of the country, though it is not unfrequent on the open slope of the mountains. A more unappropriate term than “Mountain Mocking-Bird” could hardly have been chosen for this species, as its predilection for the valleys, and the fact that its song is entirely its own, will show. In my opinion, the term “Sage Thrasher” would be more appropriate.

In the neighborhood of Carson City, Nevada, these birds arrived about the 24th of March, and immediately upon their arrival began singing. At this time, with the Sturnella neglecta and Poospiza belli, they made sweet music in the afternoon and early morning, in the open wastes of “sage brush,” around the city. The birds when singing were generally seen sitting upon the summit of a “sage” bush, faintly warbling, in the course of the song turning the head from side to side in a watchful manner. Upon being approached, they would dart downward, seemingly diving into the bush upon which they had perched, but upon a close search the bird could not be found, until it was heard again singing a hundred yards or more in the direction from which I had approached. This peculiar, circuitous, concealed flight is a very characteristic trait of this bird, and one sure to excite attention.

As the season advanced, or about the 10th of April, when the pairing season was at hand, the songs of the males became greatly improved, increasing in sweetness and vivacity, and full of rapturous emotion; their manners, also, became changed, for they had lost all their wariness. In paying their attentions to their mates, the males would fly from bush to bush, with a peculiar, tremulous fluttering of the wings, which, when the bird alighted, were raised above the back apparently touching each other; all the while vibrating with the emotion and ecstasy that agitated the singer.

The song of this bird, though very deficient in power,—in this respect equalling no other species of Miminæ with which I am acquainted,—is nevertheless superior to most of them in sweetness, vivacity, and variety. It has a wonderful resemblance to the beautiful subtle warbling of the Regulus calendula, having in fact very much the same style, with much of the tone, and about the power of the song of the Pyranga rubra.

When the birds are engaged in incubation, the males become very silent, and one not familiar with their habits earlier in the season would think they never had a voice; in fact, they make no protestations even when the nest is disturbed, for, while blowing the eggs, I have had the parent birds running around me, in the manner of a robin, now and then halting, stretching forward their heads, and eying me in the most anxious manner, but remaining perfectly silent. When the young are hatched the parents become more solicitous, signifying their concern by a low, subdued chuck. At all times when the nest is approached, the bird generally leaves it slyly before one approaches very near it.

The nest is very bulky, composed externally of rough sticks, principally the thorny twigs of the various “sage bush” plants. Nearer the centre the principal material is fine strips of inner bark of these plants; and the lining consists of finer strips of bark, mingled with fine roots, and bits of rabbit fur. The situation of the nest varies but little, being generally placed near the middle of a bush, that is, about eighteen inches from the ground. It is generally supported against the main trunk, upon a horizontal branch. Several were found upon the ground beneath the bush, one, in fact, embedded in the soil, like that of a Pipilo; or as sometimes the case with the Harporhynchus rufus, others, again, were found in brush-heaps. In all cases, the nest was very artfully concealed, the situation being so well selected.

This bird is almost equally common in all parts of its habitat, within the limits indicated. In June, we found it abundant on the large islands in the Great Salt Lake, where many nests were found.

In autumn, it feeds, in company with many other birds, upon berries, “service berries” being its especial favorite.

Genus HARPORHYNCHUS, Cabanis

Toxostoma, Wagler, Isis, 1831, 528. (Type T. vetula, Wagl., not Toxostoma, Raf. 1816.)

Harpes, Gambel, Pr. A. N. S. Phila. II. 1845, 264. (Type Harpes redivivus, Gamb., not of Goldfuss, 1839.)

Harporhynchus, Cabanis, Archiv f. Naturg. 1848, I. 98. (Type Harpes redivivus, Gamb.)

Methriopterus, Reich. Av. Syst. Nat. 1850, pl. iv. (Type said by Gray to be H. rufus.)

Harporhynchus rufus.

2261

Gen. Char. Bill from forehead as long as, or much longer than the head; becoming more and more decurved in both jaws as lengthened. No indication of a notch. Rictus with the bristles extending beyond the nostrils. Tarsus long and stout, appreciably exceeding the middle toe and claw, strongly scutellate anteriorly. Wings considerably shorter than tail, much rounded; the first quill more than half the second; fourth or fifth longest. Tail large, much graduated; the feathers firm.

The species of this genus are all of large size, in fact, embracing the largest of the American slender-billed oscine birds. All the species differ in structure, varying especially in the length of the bill, as above stated.

Harporhynchus rufus.

It is useless to attempt a division of this genus, for there is such a gradual chain of characters between the two extremes of form (rufus and crissalis), that they even seem almost one species, when the numerous intermediate forms, shading so insensibly into each other, are considered. However, as this view would be rather extreme, in view of the really great difference of form between the species mentioned, we may consider the following as good species, several of them with one or more varieties: rufus, with longicauda and longirostris as varieties, the former scarcely appreciably different, the latter ranking as a permanent race; ocellatus, cinereus, curvirostris, the latter with one well-marked variety, palmeri; redivivus, with most probably lecontei as a well-marked variety, and crissalis.

The seasonal differences in the plumage often make it difficult to determine these several forms; but if the following facts are borne in mind, the trouble will be greatly lessened. In every species there is a more or less decided ochraceous tinge to the crissal region (sometimes extending forward over the flanks); except in crissalis, in which the lower tail-coverts and anal region are deep chestnut. In autumn and winter this ochraceous tint becomes very much deeper, as well as more prevalent, than in spring and summer; the whole plumage becomes softer, the colors more pronounced, and the markings more distinct, than when faded and worn in summer.

Synopsis of Species of Harporhynchus

A. Spots beneath sharply defined and conspicuous,—much darker in color than the upper parts.

1. H. rufus. The markings lineo-cuneate; wing bands sharply defined.

Above rufous; markings below dark brown; outer tail-feathers diluted at tip; wing, 4.00; tail, 5.20; bill from nostril, .79, nearly straight; tarsus, 1.30; middle toe, .90 (1,377 ♂ Carlisle, Penn.). Hab. Eastern Province United States … var. rufus.

Wing, 4.40; tail, 5.70; bill, .79; tarsus, 1.35; middle toe, .90 (5,652 ♂ Republican River). Hab. Plains between Missouri River to Rocky Mountains … var. longicauda.

Above umber brown; markings beneath black; tail-feathers not paler at tip; wing, 3.90; tail, 4.90; bill, .85, slightly curved; tarsus, 1.40; middle toe, .94 (4,016 ♂ Brownsville, Tex.) Hab. Eastern Mexico, north to Rio Grande of Texas … var. longirostris.

2. H. ocellatus.23 The markings circular; wing bands conspicuous.

Above grayish-brown; markings beneath black; tail-feathers broadly tipped with white; wing, 4.10; tail, 5.60; bill, from rictus, 1.50, moderately curved; tarsus, 1.50. Hab. Oaxaca, Mex.

3. H. cinereus. The markings deltoid; wing bands narrow, but sharply defined.

Above brownish-cinereous; markings beneath blackish-brown; tail-feathers broadly tipped with white; wing, 4.00; tail, 4.60; bill, .88, much curved; tarsus, 1.30; middle toe, .85 (12,960 “♀”—♂? Cape St. Lucas). Hab. Cape St. Lucas, Lower California.

B. Spots beneath obsolete, not darker than the plumage above; roundish in form.

4. H. curvirostris.

Above cinereous; wing bands distinct; spots below distinct, upon a white ground; femoral region and crissum very pale ochraceous; tail-feathers broadly and sharply tipped with pure white; wing, 4.30; tail, 4.50; bill, 1.00, stout, moderately curved; tarsus, 1.40; middle toe, 1.12 (7,200 ♂ Ringgold Barracks, Texas). Hab. from Rio Grande valley in Texas to Cordova, Orizaba, Oaxaca, Colima, and Mazatlan … var. curvirostris.

Wing bands obsolete, and tail spots very narrow and obsolete; spots below just discernible upon a grayish ground; femoral region and crissum dilute ochraceous-brown; wing, 4.30; tail, 5.20; bill, 1.00, slender, moderately curved; tarsus, 1.30; middle toe, 1.00 (8,128 ♂ “New Mexico”—probably Eastern Arizona). Hab. Arizona (Camp Grant) … var. palmeri.

C. Entirely unspotted beneath.

5. H. redivivus. Anal region and lower tail-coverts light ochraceous.

Above soft brownish-cinereous, tail considerably darker; wing bands almost obsolete, and tail-feathers merely diluted at tips. Beneath paler than above,—almost white on throat and abdomen; anal region and lower tail-coverts yellowish-ochraceous. A distinct “bridle” formed by the hair-like tips of the feathers, bordering the throat; maxillary stripe white with transverse bars of dusky; wing, 3.90; tail, 5.25; bill, 1.05, slender, moderately curved; tarsus, 1.25; middle toe, .86 (40,718 ♂ 20 miles from Colorado River, near Fort Mojave). Hab. Arizona (Gila River, Fort Yuma, and Fort Mojave) … var. lecontei.

Above ashy drab, tail darker and more brownish; wing bands inconspicuous, and tail-feathers hardly diluted at tips. Beneath, the ochraceous covers the abdomen, and the throat inclines to the same. No “bridle.” Cheeks and ear-coverts blackish, with conspicuous shaft-streaks of white; wing, 4.30; tail, 5.60; bill, 1.40, stout, very much bowed,—the arch regular; tarsus, 1.55; middle toe, 1.00 (3,932 ♂, California). Hab. Coast region of California … var. redivivus.

6. H. crissalis. Anal region and lower tail-coverts deep chestnut.

Above, brownish-ashy with a slight purplish cast, tail not darker; no trace of wing bands; tail-feathers diluted, and tinged with rusty at tips. Beneath, of a uniform, paler tint than the upper plumage, not lighter medially; throat white, with a conspicuous “bridle”; from this up to the eye whitish, with transversely angular bars of dusky; wing, 4.00; tail, 6.50; bill, 1.25, very slender, bowed from the middle; tarsus, 1.30; middle toe, .90 (11,533 ♂ Fort Yuma). Hab. Region of Gila River to Rocky Mountains; north to Southern Utah (St. George, breeding; Dr. Palmer).

PLATE III.

1. Harporhynchus rufus, Caban. Penn., 2261.

2. Harporhynchus longirostris, Caban. Texas, 4016.

3. Harporhynchus curvirostris, Caban. Texas, 7200.

4. Mimus polyglottus, Boie. Penn., 12445.

5. Galeoscoptes carolinensis, Caban. Rocky Mts., 38425.

6. Oreoscoptes montanus, Baird. Nevada, 53424.

Harporhynchus rufus, Cabanis

BROWN THRASHER

Turdus rufus, Linn. Syst. Nat. 10th ed. 1758, 169, based on Catesby, tab. 19.—Ib. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 293.—Gätke, Naumannia, 1858, 424 (Heligoland, Oct. 1837). Harporhynchus rufus, Cab. Mus. Hein. 1850, 82.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 353.—Ib. Rev. Am. Birds, 44.—Sclater, P. Z. S. 1859, 340.—Ib. Catal. 1861, 8, no. 48.—Samuels, 163. Mimus rufus, Pr. Max. Cab. Jour. 1858, 180.

Figures: Vieillot, Ois. Am. Sept. II, pl. lix.—Wilson, Am. Orn. II, pl. xiv.—Aud. Orn. Biog. pl. cxvi.

Sp. Char. Exposed portion of the bill shorter than the head. Outline of lower mandible straight. Above light cinnamon-red; beneath pale rufous-white with longitudinal streaks of dark brown, excepting on the chin, throat, middle of the belly, and under tail-coverts. These spots anteriorly are reddish-brown in their terminal portion. The inner surface of the wing and the inner edges of the primaries are cinnamon; the concealed portion of the quills otherwise is dark brown. The median and greater wing-coverts become blackish-brown towards the end, followed by white, producing two conspicuous bands. The tail-feathers are all rufous, the external ones obscurely tipped with whitish; the shafts of the same color with the vanes. Length, 11.15; wing, 4.15; tail, 5.20; tarsus, 1.30.

Hab. Eastern North America to Missouri River, and perhaps to high central plains United States, east of Rocky Mountains, north to Lake Winnipeg.

As stated in “Birds of North America” some specimens (var. longicauda) from beyond the Missouri River are larger than eastern birds, with longer tails, more rufous beneath; the breast spots darker. But, in passing from east to west, the change is so insensible that it is impossible to divide the series.

Habits. This Thrush is a common species throughout a widely extended area, from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic, and from the Red River country, in British America, to the Rio Grande. And nearly throughout this entire territory it also resides and breeds, from Texas to the 54th parallel of latitude.

It reaches New England early in May and leaves it in the latter part of September or the first week of October, its stay varying with the season and the supply of its food. It is somewhat irregularly distributed, common in some portions of this section, and rare or even unknown in others. It is not found near the sea-coast beyond Massachusetts. It passes the winter in the Southern States, even as far to the north as Virginia, and is in full song in the neighborhood of Savannah as early as the first of March.

The song of this Thrush is one of great beauty, and is much admired by all who appreciate woodland melody of the sweetest and liveliest type. It is loud, clear, emphatic, full of variety and charm. Its notes are never imitative and cannot be mistaken by any one who is familiar with them, for those of any other bird, unless it may be some one of its western congeners. It is a very steady performer, singing for hours at a time. Its notes are given in a loud tone, and its song may often be heard to quite a distance.

In obtaining its food the Brown Thrush is at times almost rasorial in its habits. In the early spring it scratches among the leaves of the forest for worms, coleopterous grubs, and other forms of insect food. By some it is charged with scratching up the hills of early corn, but this is not a well-founded accusation. Berries of various kinds also form a large part of its food, and among these the small fruit of our gardens must be included.

This Thrush is a very affectionate and devoted bird, especially to its young. It is also prompt in going to the assistance of others of its species when in trouble. Whenever intruders approach their nests, especially if their young are far advanced, they manifest the deepest anxiety, sometimes even making a vigorous defence. The writer has a very distinct recollection of having encountered, together with a younger brother, an ignominious defeat, when making his first attempt to inspect the nest of one of these birds.

The Brown Thrush is jealous of the intrusion of other birds of its own species to a too close proximity to its nesting-place, and will assert its love of seclusion by stout battles. In Louisiana the construction of the nest is commenced quite early in March; in Pennsylvania, not until May; and in the New England States in the latter part of that month. The nest is usually not more than two or three feet from the ground. It is built in a low bush, on a cluster of briers or among vines. I have known it to be placed in the interior of a heap of brushwood loosely thrown together. I have never met with the nest built upon the ground, but in Springfield, and in other dry and sandy localities, this is by no means an uncommon occurrence. These nests are frequently placed in close proximity to houses, and sometimes in the very midst of villages.

The nest of the Thrasher is large, and roughly but strongly built. The base is usually made of coarse twigs, sticks, and ends of branches, firmly interwoven. Within this is constructed an inner nest, composed of dried leaves, strips of bark, and strong black fibrous roots. These are lined with finer roots, horse-hair, an occasional feather, etc.

The eggs are usually four, sometimes five, and rarely six, in number. They vary both in the tints of the ground color, in those of their markings, and slightly in their shape. Their length varies from .99 to 1.12 inches, with a mean of 1.05. Their breadth ranges from .76 to .87 of an inch; mean breadth, .81. The ground color is sometimes white, marked with fine reddish-brown dots, confluent at the larger end, or forming a broad ring around the crown. In others the markings have a yellowish-brown tint. Sometimes the ground color is a light green.

Harporhynchus rufus, var. longirostris, Caban.,

TEXAS THRASHER

Orpheus longirostris, Lafr. R. Z. 1838, 55.—Ib. Mag. de Zool. 1839, Ois. pl. i. Toxostoma longirostre, Cab. Wiegm. Arch. 1847, I. 207. Mimus longirostris, Sclater, P. Z. S. 1856, 294 (Cordova). Harporhynchus longirostris, Cab. Mus. Hein. 1850, 81.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 352, pl. lii.—Ib. Rev. 44.—Sclater, P. Z. S. 1859, 339; Ib. 1864, 172 (City of Mex.); Ib. Catal. 1861, 8, No. 47.

Sp. Char. Similar to H. rufus, the rufous of back much darker. Wings much rounded; second quill shorter than the secondaries. Exposed portion of the bill as long as the head; the lower edge decidedly decurved or concave. Above rather dark brownish-rufous; beneath pale rufous-white; streaked on the sides of the neck and body, and across the breast, with very dark brownish-black, nearly uniform throughout, much darker than in rufus. Two rather narrow white bands on the wings. The concealed portion of the quills dark brown. Length, 10.50; wing, 4.00; tail, 5.00; tarsus, 1.40.

Hab. Eastern Mexico; north to Rio Grande, Texas. Cordova, Scl. Orizaba (temperate region), Sumichrast.

Specimens from the Rio Grande to Mirador and Orizaba are quite identical, with, of course, differences among individuals. This “species” is not, in our opinion, separable from the H. rufus specifically; but is a race, representing the latter in the region given above, where the rufus itself is never found. The relations of these two forms are exactly paralleled in the Thryothorus ludovicianus and T. berlandieri, the latter being nothing more than the darker Southern representation of the former.

The Texas Thrasher appears to belong only to the Avifauna of the Southwest. It first appears as a bird of the valley of the Rio Grande, and extends from thence southward through Eastern Mexico to Cordova and Orizaba. In Arizona it is replaced by H. palmeri, H. lecontei, and H. crissalis, in California by H. redivivus, and at Cape St. Lucas by H. cinereus, while in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains it is represented by its nearer ally H. rufus.

Habits. The eggs of this species are hardly distinguishable from those of the common Brown Thrasher (H. rufus), of the Atlantic States. The color of their ground is a greenish-white, which is thickly, and usually completely, covered with fine markings of a yellowish-brown. They have an average length of 1.13 inches, by .79 in breadth. So far as I have had an opportunity of observing, they do not vary from these measurements more than two per cent in length or one per cent in breadth. Their nests are usually a mere platform of small sticks or coarse stems, with little or no depression or rim, and are placed in low bushes, usually above the upper branches.

In regard to the distinctive habits of this species I have no information.

Harporhynchus cinereus, Xantus

CAPE ST. LUCAS THRASHER

Harporhynchus cinereus, Xantus, Pr. A. N. Sc. 1859, 298.—Baird, Ib., 303; Review, 46.—Sclater, Catal. 1861, 8, No. 49.—Elliot, Illust., I. pl. i.—Cooper, Birds Cal. 1, 19.

Sp. Char. Bill as long as the head; all the lateral outlines gently decurved from the base. Bristles not very conspicuous, but reaching to the nostrils. Wings considerably shorter than the tail, much rounded. First primary broad, nearly half the length of the second; the third to the seventh quills nearly equal, their tips forming the outline of a gentle curve; the second quill shorter than the ninth. Tail considerably graduated, the lateral feathers more than an inch the shorter. Legs stout; tarsi longer than middle toe, distinctly scutellate, with seven scales.

Above ashy brown, with perhaps a tinge of rusty on the rump; beneath fulvous-white, more fulvous on the flanks, inside of wing, and crissum. Beneath, except chin, throat, and from middle of abdomen to crissum, with well-defined V-shaped spots of dark brown at the ends of the feathers, largest across the breast. Loral region hoary. Wings with two narrow whitish bands across the tips of greater and middle coverts; the quills edged externally with paler. Outer three tail-feathers with a rather obsolete white patch in the end of inner web, and across the tips of the outer.

Spring specimens are of rather purer white beneath, with the spots more distinct than as described.

Length of 12,960 (skin), 10.00; wing, 4.10; tail, 4.65; first primary, 1.60; second, 2.50; bill from gape, 1.40, from above, 1.15, from nostril, .90; tarsus, 1.26; middle toe and claw, 1.12; claw alone, .30.

Hab. Cape St. Lucas, Lower California.

This species is curiously similar in coloration to Oreoscoptes montanus, from which its much larger size, much longer and decurved bill, and the graduated tail, of course readily distinguish it. It agrees in some respects with H. rufus and H. longirostris, but is smaller, the bill longer and more curved; the upper parts are ashy olivaceous-brown instead of rufous, etc.

Habits. So far as is at present known in regard to this species it appears to be confined exclusively to the peninsula of Lower California. It has, at least, been met with nowhere else. Mr. Xantus found it quite numerous in the vicinity of Cape St. Lucas, in a region which, as he describes it, was singularly unpropitious. This was a sandy shore, extending about a quarter of a mile inland, whence a cactus desert stretched about six miles up to a high range of mountains. Throughout this tract the ground is covered with a saline efflorescence. There is no fresh water within twenty-eight miles.

Mr. Xantus speaks of the habits of this bird as being similar to those of the Oreoscoptes montanus. It was a very abundant species at this cape, where he found it breeding among the cactus plants in large numbers. He mentions that as early as the date of his arrival at the place, April 4, he found them already with full-fledged young, and states that they continued to breed until the middle of July.

He was of the impression that the eggs of this species more nearly resemble those of the common Mocking-Bird than any others of this genus. The aggravatingly brief notes that accompanied his collections show that the general position of the nest of this species was on low trees, shrubs, and most usually, cactus plants, and in no instance at a greater elevation from the ground than four feet. Their nests were flat structures, having only a very slight depression in or near their centre. They were about 5 inches in diameter, and were very little more than a mere platform.

The eggs vary somewhat in their ground color, but exhibit only slight variations in size or shape. Their greatest length is 1.13 inches, and their average 1.12 inches. Their mean breadth is .77 inch, and their maximum .79 inch. The ground color is a greenish-white, profusely marked with spots of mingled purple and brown. In others the ground color is a bluish-green. In some specimens the spots are of a yellowish-brown, and in some the markings are much lighter.

Harporhynchus curvirostris, Caban

GRAY CURVE-BILL THRASHER

Orpheus curvirostris, Swainson, Philos. Mag. 1827, 369 (Eastern Mexico).—M’Call, Pr. A. N. Sc. May, 1848, 63. Mimus curvirostris, Gray, Genera, 1844-49. Toxostoma curvirostris, Bonap. Conspectus, 1850, 277.—Sclater, P. Z. S. 1857, 212. Harporhynchus curvirostris, Cab. Mus. Hein. I. 1850, 81.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 351, pl. li.; Ib. Rev. 45.—Heermann, P. R. R. Rep. X, Parke’s Rep. 1859, 11.—Sclater, P. Z. S. 1859, 339; Ib. Catal. 1861, 7, No. 46.—Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 483. Pomatorhinus turdinus, Temm. Pl. Col. 441. ? Toxostoma vetula, Wagler, Isis, 1831, 528.

Sp. Char. Exposed portion of the bill about as long as the head; considerably decurved. Above uniform grayish-brown, or light ash; beneath dull white; the anal region and under tail-coverts tinged with brownish-yellow. The under parts generally, except the chin, throat, middle of the belly, and under coverts, with rounded sub-triangular, quite well-defined spots, much like the back. These are quite confluent on the breast. Two narrow bands on the wing-coverts, and the edges of primaries and alulæ, are white. The tail-feathers, except the middle, are conspicuously tipped with white. Length of female, 10 inches; wing, 4.00; tail, 4.55; tarsus, 1.20.

Hab. Adjacent regions of United States and Mexico, southward. Cordova, Orizaba, Mirador; Mazatlan, Colima, Oaxaca.

Specimens from the Rio Grande across to Mazatlan represent one species; but those from the latter locality are somewhat darker in colors, though this may be owing, in part, to the fact that they are winter birds. Considerable differences in proportions may often be noticed between individuals, but nothing strikingly characteristic of any particular region.

The specimens of the Mazatlan series (37,326 ♂, 51,523, and 51,525 ♂) have tails considerably longer than any of those from the Rio Grande, the excess amounting in the longest to nearly an inch; but one from the same locality has it shorter than any of the Texas specimens.

In its perfect plumage, this species has both rows of coverts distinctly tipped with white; but in the faded condition of midsummer, the bands thus produced are hardly discernible, and the spots below become very obsolete.

Habits. This interesting species appears to be common in Western Texas, the valley of the Rio Grande, and Western Mexico. It was met with in these regions on the several railroad surveys, and is described by Dr. Heermann as possessing musical powers surpassed by few other birds. When alarmed it immediately hides itself in a thick covert of underbrush, whence it is almost impossible to dislodge it. Its food consists of fruit and berries when in their season, of insects and their larvæ, and of worms. These it collects both among the trees and from the ground, on the latter of which it spends much of its time. Mr. J. H. Clark states that the nest of this bird is very similar to that of the Mocking-Bird, but is finer and much more compact. He adds that it is oftener found among the Opuntia than elsewhere. It is a quiet bird, rather shy, and keeps closely within the clumps of the chaparral. For a bird of its size it makes an unusual noise in flying. At Ringgold Barracks Mr. Clark’s tent was pitched under a como-tree in which there was a nest of these birds. They were at first shy and seemed quite disposed to abandon their nest, but, however, soon became accustomed to their new neighbor, and went on with their parental duties. The position of their nest had been very judiciously selected, for it was during the season of the black fruit of the como, which is somewhat in the shape and size of a thimble, with a pleasant milky pulp. These constituted their principal food. The eggs in this nest were five in number. Lieutenant Couch met with it from Brownsville to Durango, where it had already paired as early as February. He describes it as exceedingly tame and gentle in its habits, and with a song remarkably melodious and attractive. Perched on the topmost bough of a flowering mimosa, in the presence of his consort, the male will pour forth a volume of most enchanting music. Their nest is generally very nearly flat, measuring nearly six inches in circumference, and scarcely more than an inch in its greatest thickness. It has hardly any distinct cavity, and hollows but very slightly from the rim to the centre, its greatest depression having barely the depth of half an inch. The nests are composed of long coarse fibrous roots, rudely, but somewhat compactly interwoven. The inner framework is constructed of the same materials intermixed with the finer stems of grasses.

Mr. H. E. Dresser states that in the vicinity of Matamoras these birds are fond of frequenting small villages, and that he frequently found their nests within the gardens and court-yards of the houses, and near the road.

The eggs of this Thrush vary considerably in size, ranging from 1.20 to 1.03 inches in length, and from .84 to .77 of an inch in breadth. Their mean length is 1.12 inches, and their average breadth .80. They have a light green ground-color, generally, though not thickly, covered with fine brown spots.

Harporhynchus curvirostris, var. palmeri, Ridgway

PALMER’S THRASHER

Harporhynchus curvirostris, var. palmeri, Ridgway, Report King’s Expedition, V, 1872.

Sp. Char. Bill slender, moderately curved; fifth quill longest; fourth and sixth just perceptibly shorter, and equal; second equal to ninth; first 1.55 shorter than longest. General plumage uniform grayish-umber, paler below, becoming almost dirty whitish on the throat and abdomen; lower part of the breast and abdomen with a very few just discernible irregular specks of a darker tint; lower tail-coverts dilute isabella-brown, more ochraceous at their margins; anal region and lower part of abdomen light ochraceous. No bands on wings, and tail-feathers only diluted at the tips. Maxillary stripe whitish with transverse bars of dusky. “Iris orange.”

♂ (No. 8,128, “New Mexico” = Arizona, Dr. Heermann): wing, 4.30; tail, 5.00; bill (from nostril), 1.00; tarsus, 1.30; middle toe (without claw), 1.00. ♀(49,723, Camp Grant, Tucson, Arizona, March 12, 1867; Dr. E. Palmer; with eggs): wing, 4.15; tail, 4.85; bill, .95; tarsus, 1.25; middle toe, .90.

Hab. Eastern Arizona (Tucson).

This very curious race seems to unite the characters of curvirostris and lecontei; in fact, it is so exactly intermediate between the two, that we are almost in doubt as to which it is most nearly related. Having the stout form and larger size, as well as the spots on the abdomen, of the former, it has also the uniform colors and general appearance of lecontei. Were it not that the nest and eggs, with the parent accompanying, had been received from Dr. Palmer, we might be tempted to consider it a hybrid between these two species, its habitat being exactly between them, too. We have great pleasure in dedicating this curious form to Dr. Edward Palmer, who has added very much to our knowledge of the Natural History of the interesting region where the present bird is found.

Description of nest and eggs.—(13,311, Camp Grant, Arizona; Dr. E. Palmer). Nest very bulky,—9 inches in height by 6 in width. Very elaborately constructed. The true nest, of symmetrical form, and composed of thin grass-stalks and flax-like fibres, is enclosed in an outer case of thorny sticks, thinly but strongly put together. This inner nest has a deep cavity measuring 4 inches in diameter by 3 in depth.

Eggs (two in number) measure 1.16 by .85; in shape exactly like those of C. curvirostris; pale blue (deeper than in curvirostris), rather thinly sprinkled with minute, but distinct dots of pale sepia-brown. Markings more distinct than those of curvirostris. R. R.

The nest was situated in a cactus-bush, four and a half feet above the ground.

Dr. Palmer remembers nothing special concerning its habits, except that the bird was very shy, and kept much on the ground, where it was seen running beneath the bushes.

Harporhynchus redivivus, var. lecontei, Bonap

LECONTE’S THRASHER

Toxostoma lecontei, Lawr. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. V, Sept. 1851, 109 (Fort Yuma). Harporhynchus lecontei, Bonap. C. R. XXVIII, 1854, 57.—Ib. Notes Delattre, 39.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 350, pl. 1; Ib. Review, 47.—Cooper, Birds Cal. 1, 17.

Sp. Char. Bill much curved. Second quill about equal to the tenth; exposed portion of the first more than half the longest; outer tail-feather an inch shortest. General color above light grayish-ash, beneath much paler; the chin and throat above almost white; the sides behind brownish-yellow or pale rusty-yellow ash, of which color is the crissum and anal region. Tail-feathers rather dark brown on the under surface, lighter above; the outer edges and tips of exterior ones obscurely paler. Quills nearly like the back.

Hab. Gila River; Fort Yuma; Fort Mojave.

Since the description of the type, a second specimen (40,718 ♂, Fort Mojave, 20 miles from Colorado River, Sept. 30, 1865) has been obtained by Dr. Coues. This skin differs slightly from the type in size, being somewhat larger, measuring, wing 3.90, tail 5.30, bill (from nostril) 1.05; while the other measures, wing 3.70, tail 4.70, bill .98. This difference in size very probably represents that between the sexes, the type most likely being a female, though the sex is not stated. Owing to the different seasons in which the two specimens were obtained, they differ somewhat in plumage also. Dr. Coues’s specimen is somewhat the darker, and the plumage has a softer, more blended aspect, and a more ashy tinge of color; the ochraceous of the crissal region is also slightly deeper. No other differences are appreciable.

Habits. Leconte’s Thrasher is a new and comparatively little known species. A single specimen was obtained by Dr. Leconte near Fort Yuma, and described by Mr. Lawrence in 1851, and remained unique for many years. In 1861 Dr. Cooper presented a paper to the California Academy of Sciences, in which this bird is given among a list of those new to that State. He then mentions that he found it common about the Mojave River, and that he procured two specimens.

Dr. Coues, in his valuable paper on the birds of Arizona, speaks of obtaining, in 1865, a specimen of this rare species on a dry plain covered thickly with mesquite and cactus, near Fort Mojave. This bird was very shy and restless, fluttered hurriedly from one cactus to another, until he at last shot it where it seemed to fancy itself hidden among the thick fronds of a large yucca. Its large stout feet admirably adapt it for its partially terrestrial life, and it apparently spends much of its life upon the ground, where it runs rapidly and easily. Its flight he describes as swift but desultory, and accompanied by a constant flirting of the tail. He considers this species as inhabiting the whole valley of the Colorado and Gila, and thinks that it does not leave the vicinity of these streams for the mountains.

Dr. Cooper found a nest of this species, but without eggs, built in a yucca, and similar to that of H. redivivus. In his Report on the Birds of California, Dr. Cooper speaks of finding this bird common on the deserts, along the route between the Colorado Valley, wherever there was a thicket of low bushes surrounded by sand-hills. Its notes, habits, and general appearance were like those of H. redivivus.

Harporhynchus redivivus, Caban

CALIFORNIA THRASHER

Harpes rediviva, Gambel, Pr. A. N. S. II, Aug. 1845, 264. Toxostoma rediviva, Gambel, J. A. N. Sc. 2d ser. I, 1847, 42.—Cassin, Illust. I, 1855, 260, pl. xlii. Harporhynchus redivivus, Cabanis, Archiv Naturg. 1848, 98.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 349; Rev. 48.—Sclater, P. Z. S. 1859, 339.—Cooper, Birds Cal. 1, 15.

Sp. Char. Wing much rounded; the second quill shorter than the secondaries. Tail much graduated. Bill much decurved, longer than the head. Above brownish-olive, without any shade of green; beneath pale cinnamon, lightest on the throat, deepening gradually into a brownish-rufous on the under tail-coverts. The fore part of the breast and sides of the body brown-olive, lighter than the back. An obscure ashy superciliary stripe, and another lighter beneath the eye. Ear-coverts and an indistinct maxillary stripe dark brown; the shafts of the former whitish. Ends and tips of tail-feathers obsoletely paler. Length, 11.50 inches; wing, 4.20; tail, 5.75; tarsus, 1.55.

Hab. Coast region of California.

Habits. The California Thrasher appears to have a somewhat restricted distribution, being confined to the coast region of California, where, however, it is quite abundant. It was first met with by Dr. Gambel, near Monterey. The specimens were obtained on the ground where they were searching for coleopterous insects. Dr. Heermann afterwards found this bird abundant in the southern part of California. It was difficult of approach, diving into the thick bushes, running some distance on the ground, and becoming afterwards unapproachable. He speaks of its song as a flood of melody equalled only by the song of the Mocking-Bird (Mimus polyglottus). Colonel McCall also describes its song as of exquisite sweetness, “placing it almost beyond rivalry among the countless songsters that enliven the woods of America.” He also states that it is as retiring and simple in its manners as it is brilliant in song.

In the character of its flight it is said to strongly resemble the Brown Thrasher (H. rufus) of the Eastern States. Their harsh, scolding notes, when their nest is approached, their motions and attitudes, are all very similar to those of H. rufus under like circumstances. Colonel McCall ranks the song of this species as far superior to that of any other Thrush. Without possessing the powerful voice or imitative faculties of the Mocking-Bird, its notes are described as having a liquid mellowness of tone, with a clearness of expression and volubility of utterance that cannot be surpassed.

A nest of this bird found by Dr. Heermann was composed of coarse twigs, and lined with slender roots, and not very carefully constructed. Mr. Hepburn writes that a nest found by him was in a thick bush about five feet from the ground. It was a very untidy affair, a mere platform of sticks, almost as carelessly put together as that of a pigeon, in which, though not in the centre, was a shallow depression about 4 inches in diameter, lined with fine roots and grass. It contained two eggs with a blue ground thickly covered with soot-colored spots confluent at the larger end, and in coloring not unlike those of the Turdus ustulatus. The eggs measured 1.19 inches by .81 of an inch. Dr. Cooper gives their measurement as 1.10 of an inch by .85. Two eggs belonging to the Smithsonian Institution (2,040, a and b) measure, one 1.19 by .81, the other 1.14 by .93. The former has a bluish-green ground sparsely spotted with olive-brown markings; the other has a ground of a light yellowish-green, with numerous spots of a russet brown.

The general character of their nest is, as described, a coarse, rudely constructed platform of sticks and coarse grass and mosses, with but a very slight depression. Occasionally, however, nests of this bird are more carefully and elaborately made. One (13,072) obtained near Monterey, by Dr. Canfield, has a diameter of 6 inches, a height of 3, with an oblong-oval cavity 2 inches in depth. Its outside was an interweaving of leaves, stems, and mosses, and its lining fine long fibrous roots.

These birds are chiefly found frequenting the dense chaparral that lines the hillsides of California valleys, forming thickets, composed of an almost impenetrable growth of thorny shrubs, and affording an inviting shelter. In such places they reside throughout the year, feeding upon insects, for the procuring of which their long curved bills are admirably adapted, as also upon the berries which generally abound in these places. Their nests usually contain three eggs. Dr. Cooper states that their loud and varied song is frequently intermingled with imitations of other birds, though the general impression appears to be that they are not imitative, and do not deserve to be called, as they often are, a mocking-bird.

PLATE IV.

1. Harporhynchus crissalis, Henry. Cal., 11533.

2. Harporhynchus cinereus, Xantus. C. St. L., 26343.

3. Harporhynchus lecontei, Bonap. Ariz., 40718.

4. Harporhynchus redivivus, Caban. Cal., 3732.

Harporhynchus crissalis, Henry

RED-VENTED THRASHER

Harporhynchus crissalis, Henry, Pr. A. N. Sc. May, 1858.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 350, pl. lxxxii; Review, 47.—Cooper, Birds Cal. 1, 18.

Sp. Char. Second quill about as long as the secondaries. Bill much curved; longer than the head. Above olive-brown, with a faint shade of gray; beneath nearly uniform brownish-gray, much paler than the back, passing insensibly into white on the chin; but the under tail-coverts dark brownish-rufous, and abruptly defined. There is a black maxillary stripe cutting off a white one above it. There do not appear to be any other stripes about the head. There are no bands on the wings, and the tips and outer edges of the tail-feathers are very inconspicuously lighter than the remaining portion. Length, 11 inches; wing, 4.00; tail, 5.80; tarsus, 1.25.

Hab. Region of the Gila River, to Rocky Mountains; Southern Utah (St. George, Dr. Palmer).

A second specimen (11,533) of this rare species is larger than the type, but otherwise agrees with it. Its dimensions are as follows:—

Length before skinning, 12.50; of skin, 12.50; wing, 3.90; tail, 6.50; its graduation, 1.45; first quill, 1.50; second, .41; bill from forehead (chord of curve), 1.65, from gape, 1.75, from nostril, 1.30; curve of culmen, 1.62; height of bill at nostril, .22; tarsus, 1.30; middle toe and claw, 1.12.

The bill of this species, though not quite so long as in redivivus, when most developed, is almost as much curved, and much more slender,—the depth at nostrils being but .22 instead of .26. The size of this specimen is equal to the largest of redivivus (3,932); the tail absolutely longer. The feet are, however, considerably smaller, the claws especially so; the tarsus measures but 1.30, instead of 1.52; the middle claw .29, instead of .36. With these differences in form, however, it would be impossible to separate the two generically.

A third specimen (No. 60,958 ♀, St. George, Utah, June 9, 1870), with nest and eggs, has recently been obtained by Dr. Palmer. This specimen, being a female, is considerably smaller than the type, measuring only: wing, 3.90; tail, 6.00; bill, from nostril, 1.15. The plumage is in the burnt summer condition, and has a peculiar reddish cast.

Habits. Of this rare Thrush little is known. So far as observed, its habits appear to be nearly identical with those of the Californian species (H. redivivus). It is found associated in the same localities with H. lecontei, which also it appears to very closely resemble in all respects, so far as observed. The first specimen was obtained by Dr. T. C. Henry, near Mimbres, and described by him in May, 1858, in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences. A second specimen was obtained by H. B. Möllhausen, at Fort Yuma, in 1863. Dr. Coues did not observe it at Fort Whipple, but thinks its range identical with that of H. lecontei.

Dr. Cooper found this species quite common at Fort Mojave, but so very shy that he only succeeded in shooting one, after much watching for it. Their song, general habits, and nest he speaks of as being in every way similar to those of H. redivivus.

The eggs remained unknown until Dr. E. Palmer had the good fortune to find them at St. George, Southern Utah, June 8, 1870. The nest was an oblong flat structure, containing only a very slight depression. It was very rudely constructed externally of coarse sticks quite loosely put together; the inner nest is made of finer materials of the same. The base of this nest was 12 inches long, and 7 in breadth; the inner nest is circular, with a diameter of 4½ inches.

The eggs are of an oblong-oval shape, one end being a little less obtuse than the other. In length they vary from 1.15 to 1.12 inches, and in breadth from .84 to .82 of an inch. They are of a uniform blue color, similar to the eggs of the common Robin (Turdus migratorius), only a little paler or of a lighter tint. In the total absence of markings they differ remarkably from those of all other species of the genus.

Genus MIMUS, Boie

Mimus, Boie, Isis, Oct. 1826, 972. (Type Turdus polyglottus, Linn.)

Orpheus, Swainson, Zoöl. Jour. III, 1827, 167. (Same type.)

Mimus polyglottus.

8159

Gen. Char. Bill not much more than half the length of the head; gently decurved from the base, notched at tip; commissure curved. Gonys straight, or slightly concave. Rictal bristles quite well developed. Wings rather shorter than the tail. First primary about equal to, or rather more than, half the second; third, fourth, and fifth quills nearly equal, sixth scarcely shorter. Tail considerably graduated; the feathers stiff, rather narrow, especially the outer webs, lateral feathers about three quarters of an inch the shorter in the type. Tarsi longer than middle toe and claw by rather less than an additional claw; tarsi conspicuously and strongly scutellate; broad plates seven.

Of this genus there are many species in America, although but one occurs within the limits of the United States.

The single North American species M. polyglottus is ashy brown above, white beneath; wings and tail black, the former much varied with white.

Mimus polyglottus, Boie

MOCKING-BIRD

Turdus polyglottus, Linn. Syst. Nat. 10th ed. 1758, 169; 12th ed. 1766, 293.—Mimus polyglottus, Boie, Isis, 1826, 972.—Sclater, P. Z. S. 1856, 212.—Ib. 1859, 340.—Ib. Catal. 1861, 8, No. 51.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 344.—Ib. Rev. 48.—Samuels, 167.—Cooper, Birds Cal. 1, 21.—Gundlach, Repertorio, 1865, 230 (Cuba).—Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 230.—Coues, Pr. A. N. Sc. 1866, 65 (Arizona).—? Orpheus leucopterus, Vigors, Zoöl. Beechey, 1839.

Figures: Wilson, Am. Orn. II, 1810, pl. x, fig. 1.—Aud. Orn. Biog. I, 1831, pl. xxi.—Ib. Birds Amer. II, 1841, pl. 137.

Sp. Char. Third and fourth quills longest; second about equal to eighth; the first half or more than half the second. Tail considerably graduated. Above ashy brown, the feathers very obsoletely darker centrally, and towards the light plumbeous downy basal portion (scarcely appreciable, except when the feathers are lifted). The under parts are white, with a faint brownish tinge, except on the chin, and with a shade of ash across the breast. There is a pale superciliary stripe, but the lores are dusky. The wings and tail are dark brown, nearly black, except the lesser wing-coverts, which are like the back; the middle and greater tipped with white, forming two bands; the basal portion of the primaries white; most extended on the inner primaries. The outer tail-feather is white, sometimes a little mottled; the second is mostly white, except on the outer web and towards the base; the third with a white spot on the end; the rest, except the middle, very slightly or not at all tipped with white. The bill and legs are black. Length, 9.50; wing, 4.50; tail, 5.00.

Mimus polyglottus.

Young. Similar, but distinctly spotted with dusky on the breast, and obsoletely on the back.

Hab. North America, from about 40° (rare in Massachusetts, Samuels), south to Mexico. Said to occur in Cuba.

The Mocking-Birds are closely allied, requiring careful comparison to distinguish them. A near ally is M. orpheus, of Jamaica, but in this the outer feather is white, and the 2d, 3d, and 4th tail-feathers are marked like the 1st, 2d, and 3d of polyglottus, respectively.

We have examined one hundred and fourteen specimens, of the present species, the series embracing large numbers from Florida, the Rio Grande, Cape St. Lucas, and Mazatlan, and numerous specimens from intermediate localities. The slight degree of variation manifested in this immense series is really surprising; we can discover no difference of color that does not depend on age, sex, season, or the individual (though the variations of the latter kind are exceedingly rare, and when noticed, very slight). Although the average of Western specimens have slightly longer tails than Eastern, a Florida example (No. 54,850, ♂, Enterprise, Feb. 19), has a tail as long as that of the longest-tailed Western one (No. 8,165, Fort Yuma, Gila River, Dec.). Specimens from Colima, Mirador, Orizaba, and Mazatlan are quite identical with Northern ones.

Habits. The Mocking-Bird is distributed on the Atlantic coast, from Massachusetts to Florida, and is also found to the Pacific. On the latter coast it exhibits certain variations in forms, but hardly enough to separate it as a distinct species. It is by no means a common bird in New England, but instances of its breeding as far north as Springfield, Mass., are of constant occurrence, and a single individual was seen by Mr. Boardman near Calais, Me. It is met with every year, more or less frequently, on Long Island, and is more common, but by no means abundant, in New Jersey. It is found abundantly in every Southern State, and throughout Mexico. It has also been taken near Grinnell, Iowa.

A warm climate, a low country, and the vicinity of the sea appear to be most congenial to their nature. Wilson found them less numerous west of the Alleghany than on the eastern side, in the same parallels. Throughout the winter he met with them in the Southern States, feeding on the berries of the red cedar, myrtle, holly, etc., with which the swampy thickets abounded. They feed also upon winged insects, which they are very expert in catching. In Louisiana they remain throughout the entire year, approaching farmhouses and plantations in the winter, and living about the gardens and outhouses. They may be frequently seen perched upon the roofs of houses and on the chimney-tops, and are always full of life and animation. When the weather is mild the old males may be heard singing with as much spirit as in the spring or summer. They are much more familiar than in the more northern States. In Georgia they do not begin to sing until February.

The vocal powers of the Mocking-Bird exceed, both in their imitative notes and in their natural song, those of any other species. Their voice is full, strong, and musical, and capable of an almost endless variation in modulation. The wild scream of the Eagle and the soft notes of the Bluebird are repeated with exactness and with apparently equal facility, while both in force and sweetness the Mocking-Bird will often improve upon the original.

The song of the Mocking-Bird is not altogether imitative. His natural notes are bold, rich, and full, and are varied almost without limitation. They are frequently interspersed with imitations, and both are uttered with a rapidity and emphasis that can hardly be equalled.

The Mocking-Bird readily becomes accustomed to confinement, and loses little of the power, energy, or variety of its song, but often much of its sweetness in a domesticated state. The mingling of unmusical sounds, like the crowing of cocks, the cackling of hens, or the creaking of a wheelbarrow, while they add to the variety, necessarily detracts from the beauty of his song.

The food of the Mocking-Bird is chiefly insects, their larvæ, worms, spiders, etc., and in the winter of berries, in great variety. They are said to be very fond of the grape, and to be very destructive to this fruit. Mr. G. C. Taylor (Ibis, 1862, p. 130) mentions an instance that came to his knowledge, of a person living near St. Augustine, Florida, who shot no less than eleven hundred Mocking-Birds in a single season, and buried them at the roots of his grape-vines.

Several successful attempts have been made to induce the Mocking-Bird to rear their young in a state of confinement, and it has been shown to be, by proper management, perfectly practicable.

In Texas and Florida the Mocking-Bird nests early in March, young birds appearing early in April. In Georgia and the Carolinas they are two weeks later. In Pennsylvania they nest about the 10th of May, and in New York and New England not until the second week of June. They select various situations for the nest; solitary thorn-bushes, an almost impenetrable thicket of brambles, an orange-tree, or a holly-bush appear to be favorite localities. They often build near the farm-houses, and the nest is rarely more than seven feet from the ground. The base of the nest is usually a rudely constructed platform of coarse sticks, often armed with formidable thorns surrounding the nest with a barricade. The height is usually 5 inches, with a diameter of 8. The cavity is 3 inches deep and 5 wide. Within the external barricade is an inner nest constructed of soft fine roots.

The eggs, from four to six in number, vary in length from .94 to 1.06 inches, with a mean length of .99. Their breadth varies from .81 to .69 of an inch, mean breadth .75. They also exhibit great variations in the combinations of markings and tints. The ground color is usually light greenish-blue, varying in the depth of its shade from a very light tint to a distinct blue, with a slight greenish tinge. The markings consist of yellowish-brown and purple, chocolate-brown, russet, and a very dark brown.

Genus GALEOSCOPTES, Cabanis

Galeoscoptes, Cabanis, Mus. Hein. I, 1850, 82. (Type Muscicapa carolinensis, L.)

Gen. Char. Bill shorter than the head, rather broad at base. Rictal bristles moderately developed, reaching to the nostrils. Wings a little shorter than the tail, rounded; secondaries well developed; fourth and fifth quills longest; third and sixth little shorter; first and ninth about equal, and about the length of secondaries; first quill more than half the second, about half the third. Tail graduated; lateral feather about .70 shorter than the middle. Tarsi longer than middle toe and claw by about an additional half-claw; scutellate anteriorly, more or less distinctly in different specimens; scutellæ about seven.

The conspicuous naked membranous border round the eye of some Thrushes, with the bare space behind it, not appreciable.

Galeoscoptes carolinensis.

2596

There is little difference in form between the single species of Galeoscoptes and Mimus polyglottus, beyond the less degree of definition of the tarsal plates; and but for the difference in coloration (uniform plumbeous instead of gray above and white beneath), we would hardly be inclined to distinguish the two generically.

The single species known is lead-colored, with black cap, and chestnut-red under tail-coverts.

Galeoscoptes carolinensis, Caban

THE CATBIRD

Muscicapa carolinensis, Linn. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 328. Turdus carolinensis, Licht. Verz. 1823, 38.—D’Orbigny, La Sagra’s Cuba, Ois. 1840, 51. Orpheus carolinensis, Jones, Nat. Bermuda, 1859, 27 (breeds). Mimus carolinensis, Gray, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1859, 346.—Bryant, Pr. Bost. Soc. 1867, 69 (Inagua).—Lord, Pr. R. Art. Inst. (Woolwich), IV, 1864, 117 (east of Cascade Mts.). Galeoscoptes carolinensis, Cab. Mus. Hein. I, 1850, 82 (type of genus).—Ib. Jour. Orn. 1855, 470 (Cuba).—Gundlach, Repert. 1865, 230 (Cuba, very common).—Sclater, Catal. Birds, 1861, 6, no. 39.—Scl. & Salv. Pr. 1867, 278 (Mosquito Coast).—Baird, Rev. 1864, 54.—Samuels, 172.—Cooper, Birds Cal. 1, 23.

Figures: Aud. B. A. II, pl. 140.—Ib. Orn. Biog. II, pl. 28.—Vieillot, Ois. Am. Sept. II, pl. lxvii.—Wilson, Am. Orn. II, pl. xiv, f. 3.

Sp. Char. Third quill longest; first shorter than sixth. Prevailing color dark plumbeous, more ashy beneath. Crown and nape dark sooty-brown. Wings dark brown, edged with plumbeous. Tail greenish-black; the lateral feathers obscurely tipped with plumbeous. The under tail-coverts dark brownish-chestnut. Female smaller. Length, 8.85; wing, 3.65; tail, 4.00; tarsus, 1.05.

Galeoscoptes carolinensis.

Hab. United States, north to Lake Winnipeg, west to head of Columbia, and Cascade Mountains (Lord); south to Panama R. R.; Cuba; Bahamas; Bermuda (breeds). Accidental in Heligoland Island, Europe. Oaxaca, Cordova, and Guatemala, Sclater; Mosquito Coast, Scl. & Salv.; Orizaba (winter), Sumichrast; Yucatan, Lawr.

Western specimens have not appreciably longer tails than Eastern. Central American examples, as a rule, have the plumbeous of a more bluish cast than is usually seen in North American skins.

Habits. The Catbird has a very extended geographical range. It is abundant throughout the Atlantic States, from Florida to Maine; in the central portion of the continent it is found as far north as Lake Winnepeg.

On the Pacific coast it has been met with at Panama, and also on the Columbia River. It is occasional in Cuba and the Bahamas, and in the Bermudas is a permanent resident. It is also found during the winter months abundant in Central America, It breeds in all the Southern States with possibly the exception of Florida. In Maine, according to Professor Verrill, it is as common as in Massachusetts, arriving in the former place about the 20th of May, about a week later than in the vicinity of Boston, and beginning to deposit its eggs early in June. Near Calais it is a less common visitant.

The Northern migrations of the Catbird commence early in February, when they make their appearance in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. In April they reach Virginia and Pennsylvania, and New England from the 1st to the 10th of May. Their first appearance is usually coincident with the blossoming of the pear-trees. It is not generally a popular or welcome visitant, a prejudice more or less wide spread existing in regard to it. Yet few birds more deserve kindness at our hands, or will better repay it. From its first appearance among us, almost to the time of departure in early fall, the air is vocal with the quaint but attractive melody, rendered all the more interesting from the natural song being often blended with notes imperfectly mimicked from the songs of other birds. The song, whether natural or imitative, is always varied, attractive, and beautiful.

The Catbird, when once established as a welcome guest, soon makes itself perfectly at home. He is to be seen at all times, and is almost ever in motion. They become quite tame, and the male bird will frequently apparently delight to sing in the immediate presence of man. Occasionally they will build their nest in close proximity to a house, and appear unmindful of the presence of the members of the family.

The Catbird’s power of mimicry, though limited and imperfectly exercised, is frequently very amusing. The more difficult notes it rarely attempts to copy, and signally fails whenever it does so. The whistle of the Quail, the cluck of a hen calling her brood, the answer of the young chicks, the note of the Pewit Flycatcher, and the refrain of Towhee, the Catbird will imitate with so much exactness as not to be distinguished from the original.

The Catbirds are devoted parents, sitting upon their eggs with great closeness, feeding the young with assiduity, and accompanying them with parental interest when they leave the nest, even long after they are able to provide for themselves. Intruders from whom danger is apprehended they will boldly attack, attempting to drive away snakes, cats, dogs, and sometimes even man. If these fail they resort to piteous cries and other manifestations of their great distress.

Towards each other they are affectionate and devoted, mutually assisting in the construction of the nest; and as incubation progresses the female, who rarely leaves the nest, is supplied with food, and entertained from his exhaustless vocabulary of song, by her mate. When annoyed by an intruder the cry of the Catbird is loud, harsh, and unpleasant, and is supposed to resemble the outcry of a cat, and to this it owes its name. This note it reiterates at the approach of any object of its dislike or fear.

The food of the Catbird is almost exclusively the larvæ of the larger insects. For these it searches both among the branches and the fallen leaves, as well as the furrows of newly ploughed fields and cultivated gardens. The benefit it thus confers upon the farmer and the horticulturist is very great, and can hardly be overestimated.

The Catbird can with proper painstaking be raised from the nest, and when this is successfully accomplished they become perfectly domesticated, and are very amusing pets.

They construct their nests on clusters of vines or low bushes, on the edges of small thickets, and in retired places, though almost always near cultivated ground. The usual materials of their nests are dry leaves for the base, slender strips of long dry bark, small twigs, herbaceous plants, fine roots, and finer stems. They are lined with fine dry grasses, and sedges. Their nests average 4 inches in height by 5 in diameter. The diameter and depth of the cavity are 3½ inches. The eggs are of a uniform deep bluish-green, and measure .97 in length and .69 of an inch in breadth.