282 



SYSTEMA TIC SYXOPSIS. — PA SSERES — OSCIN'ES. 



occur iu the U. S. In their general hahits they resemble Wrens, habitually residing in shrub- 

 bery near the ground, relying for concealment as much upon the nature of their resorts as upon 

 their own activity and vigilance. They are all melodious, and some, like the immortal mock- 

 ingbird, are as famous for their powers of mimicry as for the brilliant execution of their proper 

 songs. In compensation for this great gift of music, perhaps that they may not grow too 

 proud, they are plainly clad, grays and browns being the prevailing colors. The nest is gen- 

 erally built with little art, in a bush, and the eggs, 2-6 in number, are blue or green, plain or 



speckled. 



A/ialysis of Genera. 



Smallest : bill shortest ; wing about equal to tail. Adults speckled below Oroscoptes 



Aledium : bill moderate ; wing a little shorter than tail. Adults plain below. 



Ashy above, white below, with much white on wings and tail Mimiis 



Blackish-ash above, no white anywhere ; crown black Galeoscoptes 



Largest : bill immoderate ; wing much shorter than tail. Plain or spotted below Harporhynchus 



OROSCOP'TES. (Gr. o/joy, oros, a mountain ; o-KoonTris. scojjtes, a mimic.) Mountain 

 Mockers. Wing and tail of about equal length ; former more pointed than in other genera of 



Mimince ; 1st quill not half as long as 2d, which is be- 

 tween 6th and 7th ; 3d, 4th, and 5th about equal to one 

 another, and forming the point of the wing. Tail nearly 

 even, its feathers but slightly graduated. Tarsus longer 

 /') '' \Z^^*$i^B than middle toe and claw, anteriorly distinctly scutel- 



//)\^^^^^^ ^^^^' ^^^^ much shorter than head, not curved, with 



f[ i v\L^^^^^^ obsolete notch near end. Rictal bristles well developed, 



the longest reaching beyond nostrils. 0. montanus is 

 the only known species. 



O. monta'nus. (Lat. montanus, of a mountain. Fig. 

 142.) Mountain Mockingbird. Sage Thrasher. 

 (J 9 ) iu summer : Above, grayish- or brownish-ash, 

 the feathers with obsoletely darker centres. Below, 

 whitish, more or less tinged with pale buffy-brown, ev- 

 erywhere marked with triangular dusky spots, largest 

 and most crowded across breast, small and sparse, some- 

 times wanting, on throat, lower belly, and crissum. 

 Wings fuscous, with much whitish edging on all the 

 quills, and two white bauds formed by tips of greater 

 and median coverts. Tail like wings ; outer feather 

 edged and broadly tipped, and all the rest, excepting 

 usually the middle pair, tipped with white in decreasing 

 amount. Bill and feet black or blackish, the former 

 often with pale base. Length about 8.00 ; wing and 

 tail, each, about 4.00; tarsus 1.12; bill 0.75. Young: 

 Dull brownish above, conspicuously streaked with dusky ; 

 the markings below strealcy and diffuse. Plains to the 

 Pacific, U. S. ; also Texas and Lower California ; an interesting species, resembling an un- 

 dersized young Mockingbird, abundant in the sage-brush of the W. Nest on ground or in low 

 bushes; eggs usually 4, 1.00 X 0.72, light greenish-blue, heavily marked with brown and 

 neutral tint. 



Ml'MUS. (Lat. mimus, a mimic.) Mockingbirds. Bill much shorter than head, scarcely 

 curved as a whole, but with gently-curved commissure, notched near the end. Rictal vibrissae 

 well developed. Tail rather longer than wing, rounded, the lateral feathers being considerably 



Sage Thrasher. 



