PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. IIB 



I desire to express my indebtedness to Dr. T. M. Brewer and Mr. E. 

 Ridgway for their assistance in many ways, and for their notes, which 

 add so much to the value of the present paper. 



1. Turdus fuscescens, Stephens. 

 January 1, 1877. 



2. Turdus migratorius, Linn. 



Occurs rather sparingly during the winter months. — (Dresser, Ibis, 



1805,475.) 



3. *Harporhyiichus rufus vat: longirostris, (Li.fr.) 



This fine songster is a common resident, frequenting shady thickets 

 and rarely seen in the open. In habits, it scarcely differs from the 

 Eastern var. rufus, and the large number of nests found here were quite 

 as well built as those found in New England. The usual number of 

 eggs is three, often two, more rarely four: the groundcolor varies from 

 greenish to reddish-white, more or less thickly sprinkled with reddish 

 and brownish dots and spots. One set is sparingly covered with large 

 clouded blotches, giving the eggs an appearance unusual in this genus. 

 Fifty-two eggs average 1.08 by .82, the extremes being 1.13 by .86 and 

 .97 by .75. In some adult specimens, there is a decided tendency to 

 whitish tips to the outer tail-feathers, as in var. rufus.— {R. rufus longi- 

 rostris, Sennett, B. Rio Grande, 3.) 



4. *Harporhynchu8 curvirostris, (Swains.) 



This Thrush is about as common as the preceding species, and is resi- 

 dent. They are not often seen together, however, as this bird prefers 

 more open and sunny localities, especially sparse chaparral, where the 

 prickly pear grows. Here it passes much of its time on the ground, run- 

 ning rapidly about in search of small land-shells and insects, I cannot 

 confirm the praises of the song of this bird given by Couch and Heer- 

 mann : it seems to me to be one of the most silent of the song Thrushes. 

 Its alarm note is a sharp ivhit-iohit. The nests are usually placed among 

 the fleshy joints of the prickly jiear, or in some of the many thorny and 

 almost impenetrable bushes found in Southern Texas : they are often 

 seen in the dense prickly hedges that surround most Mexican jacals. 

 Tbey are, as a rule, readily distinguishable from those of the Texas 

 Thrasher and Mocking-bird by the almost invariable lining of yellow 

 straws, giving a peculiar appearance to the nest. They are also more 

 compactly built, are well cupped, and often have the edges well guarded 

 by thorny twigs. The eggs are usually four iu number : the ground- 

 color is a deep greenish-blue (more rarely pale yellowish), rather sparsely 

 sprinkled over the entire surface with very fine brown dots. They 

 average 1.13 x .80: extremes 1.18 x .83 and .94 x .72. — (Dresser, Ibis, 

 1865, 482.— Sennett, B. Rio Grande, 4.) 



5. *Mimus polyglottus, (Linn.) 



A very common resident. By the 20th of May, many pairs have eggs 



