46 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



coleopterous insects. Dr. Heermann afterwards found this bird abundant 

 in the southern part of California. It was difficult of apjiroach, diving into 

 the thick bushes, running some distance on the ground, and becoming alter- 

 wards unapproachable. He speaks of its song as a flood of melody equalled 

 only by the song of the Mocking- Bird {Mimns puJ nijlottas). Colonel McCall 

 also describes its song as of exquisite sweetness, " placing it almost beyond 

 ri\alry 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. riifiis) 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 Tiu'ush. 

 Without possessing the powerful voice or imitative faculties of tlie Mock- 

 ing-Bird, its notes are described as having a liquid mellowness of tone, with 

 a clearness of expression and volubility of utterance that cannot be sur- 

 passed. 



A nest of this bird found b}- Dr. Heermann was composed of coarse twigs, 

 and lined with slender roots, and not very carefully constructed. ]\Ir. Hep- 

 burn writes that a nest found by him was in a thick bush al)out 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 wliich, though not 

 in the centre, was a .shallow depression about 4 inclies in diameter, lined 

 with fine roots and grass. It contained two eggs with a blue ground thickly 

 covered witli soot-colored spots confluent at the larger end, and in coloring 

 not unlike those of tlie Turdus nstulatns. 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 Smitlisonian 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 ; tlie other has a 

 ground of a liglit yellowish-green, with numerous spots of a russet brown. 



The general character of their nest is, as described, a coarse, riulely con- 

 structed platform of sticks and coarse grass and mosses, with but a very 

 slight depression. Oecasiunally, however, nests of this bird are more care- 

 fully and elaborately made. One (13,072) obtained near I\Ionterey, by Dr. 

 Canfield, lias 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 fil^rous 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 



