SAGE THRASHER 429 



that described by Henshaw. Dr. Jean M. Linsdale (1938) reports 

 some five nests found in Nevada ; two of these were in sagebrush, one 

 in rabbitbrush, one in a greasewood, and one in a horsebrush ( Tetra- 

 dymia) ; these were all very low nests, ranging from 5 inches to 2 feet 

 above ground, only one above 1 foot. There is a set of eggs in the F. W. 

 Braund collection from New Mexico that came from a nest 2 feet up 

 in a juniper. There are two sets in my collection that came from Utah ; 

 the nests were in greasewood bushes and were lined with sheep wool 

 and horsehair. 



Eggs. — The usual set for the sage thrasher consists of four or five 

 eggs ; six eggs are found occasionally and seven have been recorded by 

 Oilman (1907). The average shape is ovate, with variations toward 

 short-ovate or elongate-ovate. They are often quite glossy. They 

 have been said to resemble mockingbirds' eggs, but they can generally 

 be recognized by the deeper and richer colors. The ground color is a 

 deep, rich blue, or greenish blue, sometimes almost as dark as catbirds' 

 eggs and sometimes almost as pale as the darker shades of mocking- 

 birds' eggs, "Nile blue" or "lumiere blue." They are boldly spotted 

 with large well-defined spots or small blotches, which are not confluent 

 and are sometimes elongated. These markings are usually in the 

 darker shades of rich brown, or reddish brown, such as "chestnut" or 

 "chestnut-brown" ; but sometimes the markings are in paler shades, such 

 as "cinnamon-rufous" or "vinaceous-tawny" ; sometimes there are a 

 few shell markings of "plumbeous." 



The measurements of 50 eggs in the United States National Museum 

 average 24,8 by 18.0 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes 

 measure 29.5 by 19.3 and 22.6 by 17.3 millimeters. 



Young. — The period of incubation does not seem to have been de- 

 termined for this species. Apparently both sexes incubate the eggs, 

 for Dr. Walter P. Taylor (1912) says that "one of the birds frightened 

 from a nest proved to be a male, indicating that the male takes part 

 in incubation." Probably two broods are sometimes raised in a season, 

 but perhaps not regularly. 



Plumages. — Dr. Linsclale (1938) describes three small young as 

 "covered with tracts of blackish down." I have not seen any small 

 young, but Mr. Ridgway (1907) says that, in the juvenal plumage, the 

 upper parts are "light grayish brown (decidedly browner than in 

 summer adults) , the pileum, back, scapulars, and rump rather broadly 

 streaked with much darker grayish brown; streaks on under parts 

 less sharply defined than in adults." 



The postnuptial molt of adults occurs in August and September and 

 is complete. In fresh fall plumage, the upper parts are grayer than 

 in spring, the tertials are margined terminally with white, and the 

 underparts are washed with buff. 



Food. — The examination of 10 stomachs of the sage thrasher by 



