BROWNSVILLE THRASHER 401 



trees, it is always found, and usually in company with the Long- 

 billed Thrush." 



Dr. Herbert Friedmann (1925) says that, near Brownsville, this 

 bird is called "Field Thrasher," as it is found in open fields. 



Nesting. — Mr. Sennett (1879) says of the nesting haunts of this 

 thrasher : 



In nesting, the habits of this species vary to suit the locality. In districts 

 where chaparral covers the country, there is no respectable growth of timber, 

 but now and then openings, principally occupied by prickly-pear cactuses and 

 stunted mesquite trees, and here their nests will be found in cactuses more 

 frequently perhaps than in trees. But at Lomita I found five nests in trees 

 to one in cacti. * * * At Lomita Ranch, close by a large and much fre- 

 quented gateway, stands a young ebony-tree, from which, in plain sight, and 

 some 12 feet from the ground, I took a nest and four eggs in April * . * * and 

 on May 20 I took a nest and three fresh eggs, at a height of 14 feet, in a large 

 ebony, close by a pathway on the edge of a cornfield. These were the highest 

 nests found, and in both instances the birds were as tame as Robins. Nests are 

 seldom found lower than 4 feet from the ground. 



Elsewhere, referring to the same region near Brownsville, he (1878) 

 writes : 



The first nest secured was at Hidalgo, April 17. Its location was beneath 

 the roof in the broken side of a thatched outhouse in the very heart of the vil- 

 lage. A more exposed place for human view could not be found, nor was there 

 in the village a yard more frequented by children; yet I could not imagine a 

 safer retreat from its more natural enemies. * * * The average size of nest 

 was about that of an ordinary 4-quart measure, although, from its irregular 

 shape, it would not set into one. Its depth outside was fully 6 inches, with an 

 inside depth of 2 so that when the bird was on, though only 6 feet from the 

 ground, nothing but its head and tail could be seen. The nest was composed of 

 twigs from the size of a leadpencil down, and lined with dry grasses. * * * 



On May 10th, while on horseback, I came upon a prickly-pear cactus, wonderful 

 to me for its size and tree-like shape. Its trunk was the size of a man's body, 

 and some of its branches were above my head as I sat on my horse. Its general 

 form was that of a wine-glass. While peering about and poking the stalks with 

 my gun, I discovered in the very heart of the great cactus a nest and four eggs 

 of this Thrush. It was about 5 feet from the ground, perfectly exposed above, 

 yet nothing could be more secure from all sides. 



Dr. J. C. Merrill (1878), writing about the same region, says: 

 "The nests are usually placed among the fleshy joints of the prickly 

 pear, 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. They 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." 



George B. Benners (1887) found a nest in an old woodpecker's hole 

 in a live oak tree on the bank of the Kio Grande near Laredo, Tex. ; 



