TROGLODYTID.E—TROGLODYTINM: WRENS. 289 



to the brownish -yellow of tlie lower belly aud crissuin is very gradual. Valley of the Gila 

 and Lower Colorado in contiguous portions of W. Arizona, N.W. Sonora, N.E. Lower Cali- 

 fornia ; S. California in the Mojave River desert. Death Valley, San Joaquin Valley, etc. ; 

 N. to S. Nevada, and the extreme S.W. corner of Utah. Specimens were for many years 

 very rare, and the species was long regarded as a bleached desert race of redivivus, as in all 

 former eds. of the Key. The type specimen from Fort Yuma, and another which I took near 

 Fort Mojave in 1865 were long the only ones known. But we now have plenty of them, and 

 their specific character is confirmed. Young birds have the bill very short and quite straight, 

 the elongation and arcuation being gradually acquired as they come to maturity. Nest in 

 bushes, bulky, loose, deep; eggs 2-4, 1.15 X 0.77, pale greenish, rather sparsely dotted with 

 reddish-brown. For various observations on the life-history of this interesting bird, see Auk, 

 1884, pp. 253-258; 1885, p. 197 and pp. 229-231 ; 1886, pp. 299-307; 1895, pp. 54-60. 

 H. 1. arenic'ola. (Lat. arena, sand, sandy place ; colere, to inhabit, or incola, an inhabitant.) 

 Desert Thrasher. Like the last ; darker above and on tail, grayer on breast ; tail perhaps 

 shorter. Locally developed in the sand dunes of Rosalia and Playa Maria Bays, Lower Cali- 

 fornia, iu common with Mearns' Thrasher. Anthony, Auk, Apr. 1897, p. 167 ; A. 0. U. 

 Suppl. List, Auk, Jan. 1899, p. 124. 



H. crissa'lis. (Lat. crissaUs, relating to the crifisuyn, or under tail-coverts. Fig. 1.52.) Cris- 

 SAL Thrasher. (J : Brownish-ash, with a faint olive shade, the wings aud tail purer aud 

 darker fuscous, without white 

 edging or tipping. Below, a 

 paler shade of color of upper 

 parts. Throat and side of lower 

 jaw white, with sharp black 

 maxillary streaks. Cheeks and 

 auriculars speckled with whitish. 

 Under tail-coverts rich chestnut, 

 in marked contrast with sur- 

 rounding parts. Bill black, at 



tlie maximum of length, slen- F'"- 152.-Cri88al Thrasher, nat. size. (Ad. nat. del. E. C.) 



derness, and curvature ; feet blackish. Length about 12.00 ; wing 4.00-4.25 ; tail 5.50-6.00 ; 

 its lateral feathers 1.50 shorter than the central ones; bill 1.50 ; tarsus 1.33 ; middle toe and 

 claw 1.25. This fine species is distinguished by the strongly chestnut under tail-coverts, the 

 contrast being as great as that seen in the Catbird. The sharp black maxillary streaks are 

 also a strong character. The bill is extremely slender, the tail at a maximum of length, and 

 the feet are notably smaller than those of H. redivivus. Western Texas, New Mexico, Ari- 

 zona, some parts of Nevada and Utah, and California in the Colorado Valley, common in 

 chaparral; nest in bushes near the ground, of twigs lined with vegetable fibres; eggs usually 

 3, 1.10 X 0.75,'emerald green, unspotted. 



Subfamily TROCLODYTIN/E : Wrens. 



For characters in com])arison with Mimina; see the analysis on p. 281. The Troglodytimr 

 are small birds, only exceptionally over 6 inches long, and nearly all may be recognized ou 

 sight by any one familiar with our common House Wren. In comparison with any member 

 of the Sylviida; observe that in Regulus the tarsus is booted ; that in Polioptila the colors are 

 bluish, black, and white. In comparison with Paridce or SittidfP, observe that Wrens liave a 

 different character of the nostrils and nasal plumules; with reference to Certhiidcr, that the tail 

 is not rigid and acuminate ; while as regards any small 9-priniaried birds like the Warblers 



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