BROWN THRASHER 355 



almost inaudible, as the pair play about close together under the shrub- 

 bery. Dr. Erwin's (1935) records show that the male "sang very 

 softly when the female was nearby, but when she flew away he also 

 [as did another] began to sing much louder, as if to call her back, and 

 at one time followed her a short distance, singing on the wing." 



The more intimate part of the courtship is not easily seen, as it 

 usually takes place under dense cover, but Dr. Erwin has published the 

 following account of it in his excellent paper : 



April 29, 9 : 00 a. m., both male and female were observed under the shrubbery 

 at the right of the exit. The female hopped out in the grass away from the 

 shrubbery about 10 feet and began to dig in the gi'ound with her bill. After 

 about 5 minutes the male came out a distance of about a foot from the shrubbery. 

 The female picked up a small twig in her bill and hopped back to the male, 

 fluttering her wings as she went, after which she dropped her twig and fluttered 

 her wings vigorously, giving soft chirps. No further activities were observed as 

 they searched for food among the leaves for 8 minutes. Then the female hopped 

 out on the grass, again secured a twig, and began to flutter her wings and give 

 soft chirps as before. The male picked up two dead leaves and hopped toward 

 her, whereupon she fluttered her wings even more vigorously and issued chirps 

 a little louder. Both dropped the materials held in their bills and engaged in 

 coitus. Both birds then hopped down the shrubbery row, the female gathering 

 twigs and fluttering her wings several times, after which both went under the 

 shrubbery. 



He did not see any show of display or strutting in this or other 

 courtship antics. Audubon (1841b), however, says: "The actions of 

 this species during the period of courtship are very curious, the male 

 often strutting before the female with his tail trailing on the ground, 

 moving gracefully round her, in the manner of some pigeons, and 

 while perched and singing in her presence, vibrating his body with 

 vehemence," 



Brown thrashers do not always remain mated through even one 

 breeding season. Samuel Elliott Perkins, 3d (1930), has shown this 

 to be so in at least some cases by banding and recovering adult 

 thrashers during the rearing of their first and second broods. He 

 reports "a case of a pair of birds changing mates 2 months after they 

 had raised a brood together, under conditions which proved that it 

 was not the seeking of a new mate after the death of the previous one." 

 In this case, each of the original pair was trapped and found to be 

 paired with a new mate. He continues: "We have had four other 

 pairs of Brown Thrashers in the same area under observation, where 

 only one of each pair was a banded bird. The inference seems 

 irresistible that after each brood is raised there is a complete shuffling 

 of mates among the Brown Thrashers." Apparently the brown 

 thrasher is no more constant in its marital relations than is the house 

 wren. Arthur T. Wayne (1910) was told by a man he considered 

 reliable of a female brown thrasher being mated with a male mocking- 

 bird. 



