WESTERN BIRDS Thrasher 



central Montana, west to the Cascades and Sierra Ne- 

 vada; and from western Nebraska south to east central 

 California and northern New Mexico, wintering from 

 southern California and mountains of central Texas, 

 south. 



It is about eight inches long and its general plumage 

 is ashy-brown, the under parts slightly lighter and the 

 upper parts indistinctly streaked; the wings, which are 

 of equal length with the tail, have two narrow white 

 bars, and the tail has the inner web of two to four outer 

 feathers, tipped with white; the breast and sides are 

 heavily marked with black spots. The young birds are 

 browner, with the streaks above more pronounced and 

 those below less distinct. 



The nests are usually placed in sage-brush or grease- 

 wood and are bulky structures made of coarse plant 

 stems, thorny twigs and like material, lined with fine 

 fibers and strips of sage bark, and horsehair, being 

 sometimes partially domed. 



True to family traits this bird is a fine singer. Mount- 

 ing a sage bush, or sometimes a pole, if perchance these 

 symbols of civilization have invaded his domain, he 

 pours forth his matchless strain long after dark. Some- 

 times, too, like the Mockingbird, he sings on moonlight 

 nights. But unlike the song of the gray minstrel which 

 is sung in a thickly settled neighborhood oftentimes to 

 the disgust of the would-be sleeper, who is disturbed by 

 it, this Sage Thrasher might be said to waste his sweet- 

 ness on the desert air, as seldom does he have a listener 

 in the arid regions he has chosen for his abiding place. 



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