NESTS AND EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



dots and spots. The Mexican Thrasher is found in the valley of the Rio 

 Grande, thence southward through Eastern Mexico to Cordova and 

 Orizaba. Dr. J. C. Merrill, in his "Notes on the Ornithology of Southern 

 Texas,"* gives the average size of fifty-two eggs as 1.08 by .82, the 

 extremes being 1.13 by .86 and .97 by .75. The usual number of eggs 

 is three, often two, more rarely four. There is scarcely any difference 

 between the nesting habits of this variety and those of the eastern 



Thrasher, rufllS. Hab. Eastern Mexico to Rio Grande, Texas. 



14. St. Lucas Thrasher — harporhynchus cinereus. Greenish-white, 

 profusely marked with spots of mingled purple and brown, and yellowish- 

 brown. Like all eggs of the Thiashers the ground color varies from green- 

 ish to reddish and bluish -white; two or three in number, the average size is 

 1. 12 by .'jj. The nest is a flat structure, with but a slight depression, and 

 usually placed in low trees, shrubs and often in cactus plants about four 

 feet from the ground. This bird is confined exclusively to the peninsula 

 of Lower California. 



14^;. Bendire's Thrasher — harporhynchus cinereus bendirei. This 

 Thrasher is only known to inhabit a very restricted area in Southern 

 Arizona, and is found associated with crissalis and palmeri, but is less 

 numerous than either of these. I am indebted to Mr. Harry G. Parker, 

 of Philadelphia, Pa., for notes on two sets of eggs of this species now 

 in his possession, and collected by the famous ornithologist, Captain 

 Chas. E. Bendire, who discovered the bird in Arizona in 1872, which 

 has since been named in honor of its discoverer. The first set of 

 three eggs was taken April 10, 1885, near Sacato, Pinal County. The 

 nest was large and curious, being made of twigs and spines from the 

 cactus and other plants; it was placed in a mezquite bush three feet 

 from the ground, and in a very lonely spot. "The eggs have a ground 

 color, which I should call a clear grayish-white, and blotched with different 

 shades of pale rusty-brown ; these blotches resemble in style those found 

 on the eggs of the Mocking Bird. The eggs show the following measure- 

 ments: 1. 01 by .74, I. by .yi, .98 by .72. The other set of two shows 

 no variation in size, but the ground color is dirty white, and the spots in- 

 distinct, and altogether much inferior to the brighter colored set just 

 described." Mr. Parker says his friend writes: "We found five sets 

 altogether this season, and all within a radius of three miles — as we moved 

 north we looked in vain for them — but our most diligent search was not 



* Notes on the Ornithology of Southern Texas, being a list of Birds observed in the vicinity of Fort Brown, 

 Texas, from February, 1876, to June, 1878. By James C. Merrill, Assistant Surgeon U. S. Army. Wash- 

 ington: Government Printing Office, 1878. 



