104 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. 



Harporhynchus rufus (Linn.) 



BROWN THRASHER. 



Popular synonyms. French Mocking-bird; Sandy Mocking-bird; Ferruginous Mocking- 

 bird; Fox-colored Mocking-bird; Thrasher. 

 Turduf rvfus LINN, S. N. ed. 10, i, 1758, 1C9; ed. 12. i, 176C. 293,-WiLS. Am. Orn. ii. 1810,83. 



pi. 14. AUD. Orn. Biog. ii, 1834, 102; v, 1839, 441, pi. 116. 

 Orrpheus rufus Sw. & RICH. F. B. A. ii, 1831, 189. -AuD. Synop. 1839. 88; B. Am. iii, 1841, 



9, pi. 141. 



Ha>-pnrhyn.chus rufus CABAN. Mus. Hein. i, 1850, 82. BATED, B. N. Am. 1858, 353; Cat. N. 

 Am. B. 1859, No. 261: Review, 18G1, 44. UOUES, Key, 1872,75; Check List, 1873. No. 10; 

 2d ed. 1882, No. 17; B. N. W. 1S74, 9; Col. Val. 1878. 61. B. B. & R. Hist. N. Am. B.i. 

 1874. 37, pi. 3, fix. 1. RIDGW. Norn. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 13. 



HAS. Eastern North America, west to the Rocky Mountains and North to the British 

 Provinces; winters in the Southern U. S. 



"Sp. CHAR. Exposed portion of the bill shorter than the head. Outline of lower man- 

 dii>l 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. Th^se 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.^0."* (Hist. N. Am. B.) 



Though not a very familiar bird preferring rather hedges and 

 thickets by the wayside the Brown Thrasher is nevertheless well 

 known from his eminent abilities as a songster, in which respect 

 he has no superior and few rivals in those portions of the country 

 which he inhabits. Besides thickets and hedge-rows, he frequents 

 also open places where there are isolated thorny trees, in which to 

 hide his nest, and where, while his mate is sitting, he mounts to 

 the summit of a tree and, remaining in a fixed position, sometimes 

 for hours together, cheers her, and indeed all listeners, with his 

 sweet and powerful song. The song of this species is conspicuous 

 for its vigor, while it is rendered more attractive by reason of its 

 continuity and pleasing expression. It is said to strongly resemble, 

 particularly in modulation, the melody of the Song Thrush (Turdus 

 musicus), perhaps the finest of European songsters. In power it at 

 least equals, and in sweetness excels, the much praised performance 

 of the Mocking-bird, but it lacks the inimitable variety of the latter. 

 Perched aloft on a bare twig, his head thrown proudly up, and tail 

 pendent, he pours forth an untiring succession of pleasant notes, 



* Six adult males from the region east of the Mississippi measure as follows: Wing, 

 4.10-4. 25 (average, 4.21); tail, 5.05-5.45 (average. 5.20); culmen, .95-1.00 (average, .93); tarsus, 

 1.28-1.40 (average, 1.36), Females average gomewhat smaller. 



