The Audubon Societies 



341 



mer to raise a family, but often in winter 

 as a sleeping-place. The enemies of the 

 night are many, and he needs a protected 

 place for sleeping. 



It is very amusing to watch this pair of 

 Verdins. The mother was quite confiding, 

 but her mate was afraid of the two big 

 creatures who stayed near the nest. At 

 first, he would not enter the house and 

 help feed the bantlings. But she scolded 

 and chided him, and stayed near by until 

 finally he bobbed into the doorway. They 

 hunted together continualh', the female 

 fearless and trustful, the male scared and 

 acting as if solely from a sense of duty. 



The Cactus Wren, like the Verdin, 

 builds a well-protected, covered home. He 

 selects the thorniest place in a cholla- 

 cactus, as a general rule, although some- 

 times he nests in a mesquite or a palo- 

 verde. The Cactus Wren, like the Tule 

 Wren and the Winter Wren, often builds 

 nests besides the one used, which are 

 called "cock nests." We examined fifteen 

 or twenty nests of the Cactus Wren before 

 we found one that contained eggs, yet all 

 were elaboratelv constructed. 



At first, we were unable to distinguish 

 the three kinds of Thrashers that are found 

 around Tucson, but after a closer acquaint- 

 ance we learned to recognize them. The 

 Crissal Thrasher may readily be told by 

 his decidedl)' curved bill. Palmer's and 

 Bendire's Thrashers look very much alike, 

 but the latter is a trifle smaller. Palmer's 

 Thrasher builds a bulky nest, made of 

 rough sticks, with a lining of fine grasses. 

 The eggs are of the size of the Robin's, and 

 are blue, uniformly peppered with brown 

 dots. Some twenty nests were examined, 

 and all were virtually alike. Often a nest 

 contained two eggs, but usually three. 

 In no case did I find four, which one 

 might imagine a typical set. The nest of 

 Bendire's Thrasher is smaller, and often 

 is lined with horsehair, strings, and fine 

 grasses; and its cup is distinctly smaller 

 than that of Palmer's Thrasher. The eggs 

 also of this bird are smaller. 



While both Palmer's and Bendire's 

 Thrashers are birds of the open desert, the 

 Crissal Thrasher likes the river-bottoms. 

 His favorite place is a thick, thorny bush, 

 commonly known as quail-bush. 



A CACTUS WREN ENTERIAG ITS POCKET-LIKE NEST 



