54. UARPORIITXCHUS. 359 



coverts like tlie back, the median and greater scries light drab- 

 brown, with a narrow edging of white at the tip : primary-coverfs 

 and quills brown, externall}' ashy brown like the back, the pri- 

 maries edged with whitish, the secondaries having also a narrow 

 margin of whitish at their tips ; tail-feathers brown, narrowly edged 

 with lighter brown, all but the two centre feathers tipped with 

 white, having a large spot on the inner web, and a smaller one at 

 the tip of the outer web ; lores buffy whitish ; ear-coverts light 

 ashy brown like the head, slightly streaked down the centre with 

 Avhitish; feathers below the eye and the cheeks white, slightly mottled 

 with dusky tips to the featliers ; throat white ; remainder of under 

 surface ashy whitish, tinged with tawny butf on the Hanks and 

 under tail-coverts, which are uniform ; the fore neck and breast 

 have large triangular spots of light ashy brown ; abdomen uniform 

 whitish ; axillarics and under wing-coverts ashy brown, washed 

 slightly with reddish buff; under surface of quills light brown, 

 ashy wiiitish along the edge of the inner web. Total length 11 

 inches, culmen 1'25, wing 4-25, tail 4'41, tarsus 1'3. 



The Curve-billed Thrasher ranges from the valley of the Rio 

 Grande in Texas into Mexico. 



John Taylor, Esq. [P.]. 



Purchased. 



Pm-cbased. 



7. Harporhynchus palmeri. 



Ilarporhynchus cm-virostris, Heerm. Pacific Eailr. Hep. x. p. 11 



( l8-j9)' ; Cones, Pr. PInlad. Acad. 1868, p. 83 ; Cuites, Key N. Anier. 



B. p. 75 (1872). 

 Ilavpovlivncbus curvirostris, var. palmeri, Coues, Key, p. 351 (1872, 



ex Pid'/w. MSS.) ; id. Am. Nat. vii. p. 329, iig. 08 (1873) ; Brewer, 



Pr. Bust. Soc. xvi. p. 108 (1873) ; Baird, Brewer, ^- Ridgu: N. 



Aiiter. B. i. p. 43 (1874) ; Ilens/i. List B. Ariz. p. 154 (1875) ; id. 



Zonl. Expl. W. lOOth Merid. p. 156 (1876) ; Coues, B. Color. Vail. 



p. 65 (1878). 

 Ilarporhynchus curvirostris palmeri, Ridgio. Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus. 



no. 2i; p. 12 (1881). 



Although the differences between this and the typical form are 

 not very easy to express, yet they are readily ap])rccia])le on com- 

 parison "of specimens, and fully warrant Mr. Padgway's discrimina- 

 tion of a var. palmeri. The upper parts are quite similar ; but the 

 undcrjiarts, instead of being wliitish, with decided spotting of the 

 colour of the back, are greyisli, tinged with rusty, especially behind, 

 and the spotting is nebulous. The white on the ends of wing- 

 coverls and tail-feathers is reduced to a minimum or entirely sup- 

 pressed. The bill is slenderer and apparently more curved in all 

 the specimens I have seen. (In the figure the bill is rather too 

 stout.) Average dimensions of fcmr specimens of both sexes: — 

 length l(i-75 inches, wing 4-33, tail 5, chord of culmen 1-12, tarsus 

 1-25, middle toe and claw rather more. (CoiU'.?.) 



