Thrasher WESTERN BIRDS 



him that many a bird student has been led on a wild 

 goose chase. I have sometimes thought that one might 

 trace the coming of a new bird into the neighborhood by 

 the song of the Mocker. It seems to a great extent to be 

 "out of sight, out of mind" with him for when the winter 

 birds are about he mimics their notes and when the sum- 

 mer birds return he is soon weaving their notes into his 

 song. 



To me he is a marvelous performer and mocker as 

 well as a sweet singer that we do not care to lose. 



GENUS TOXOSTOMA: CURVE- BILLED 

 THRASHER. 



Curved-bill Thrasher: Toxostoma curvirostre cur- 

 virostre. 



FAMILY— THRASHER, MOCKINGBIRDS, ETC. 



The other birds belonging to this genus are dwellers 

 of the southwestern desert regions and are, therefore, 

 not so well known as their eastern cousin. 



The Curve-billed Thrasher is found from southeastern 

 New Mexico, Rio Grande Valley, and southern Gulf 

 coast of Texas, south. It is ten and one-half or eleven 

 inches long and the upper parts are a light brownish- 

 gray; the tail is black with the four pairs of outer 

 feathers white tipped; there are two white wing bars; 

 the throat is white, and the breast and sides are spotted 

 and clouded with gray. The young are similar but the 

 markings on under side are narrower and the wing 

 coverts and rump are tawny. 



These birds build their bulky nests in cactus, yuccas, 

 and thorn bushes of their chosen habitat, and seem not 

 to be particularly shy of the humans in their domain. 



In west central Arizona and southwestern New Mex- 

 300 



