BROWN THRASHER. 



705. Toxostoma rufum. 11% inches. 



Above bright reddish brown; below white with black 

 spots. 



Taken as a whole, I think that the song of this 

 Thrasher is the most musical and pleasing of any that 

 I have ever heard. It has a similarity to that of the 

 Catbird, but is rounder, fuller and has none of the 

 grating qualities of the song of that species. They ap- 

 parently have a song of their own and do not deign to 

 copy that of others. They are one of the most useful 

 and desirable birds that we have. 



Song. — A bright and cheerful carol, often long con- 

 tinued, but always clear and sweet; call, a clear whistled 

 '*wheuu." 



Nest. — Of twigs and rootlets, in hedges, thickets or 

 thorn bushes; the four or five eggs are bluish white with 

 numerous fine dots of reddish brown over the entire sur- 

 face ( 1.08 X. 80). 



Range. — Eastern N. A., breeding from the Gulf to 

 southern Canada; winters in the southern half of the 

 U. S. 



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