400 ORNITHOLOGY. 



protest against the name "Mountain Mocking-Bird," the appellation usually 

 given it in books. This name is objectionable from the fact that it is doubly 

 a misnomer, and therefore likely to convey an entirely erroneous idea of its 

 distribution and song. A more appropriate term would be that of "Sage 

 Thrasher," which is descriptive of both its habitat, and its relationship to the 

 better-known species of the sub-family to which it belongs. 



The Sao-e Thrasher is a widely-distributed species, since it occurs 

 throughout that extensive portion of the West where the "everlasting sage- 

 brush" forms the prevaihng growth. It seems to be strictly governed 

 in its range by the growth of these plants, and is consequently chiefly 

 an inhabitant of the valleys and mesas, rarely extending farther up the 

 mountains than the foot-hills, to the commencement of the juniper or 

 mahogany woods. It is a migratory species, arriving from the South, in 

 the latitude of Carson City, about the 20tli of March, and departing in 

 October or November. Its presence has been noted at but few Mexican 

 localities, but it winters in such great numbers along our southern border 

 that its abundance in northern and central Mexico at this season may be 

 taken for granted. 



At Carson City, very favorable opportunity was afforded for observing 

 the habits of this interesting species during the breeding-season. The males 

 began singing about the 24th of March, or immediately after their arrival, 

 but their notes were then subdued, while their manners were reserved in 

 the extreme. They soon became numerous in the sage-brush around the 

 outskirts of the city, and were often seen perched upon tlie summit of a 

 bush, turning the head from side to side in a watchful manner, even while 

 singing; when approached, disappearing by diving into the bush, and, after 

 a long circuitous flight near the ground, reappearing some distance in the 

 rear of the pursuer. This peculiar, concealed flight we found to be a 

 constant habit of the species. As the pairing-season approached, with the 

 advance of spring, the songs of the males became greatly improved, both 

 in strength and quality; their manners also became changed, for they had 

 lost their former shyness. About the lOth of April, the males were engaged 

 in eager rivalry, each vying with the other as he sang his sweetest notes, 

 his wings being at intervals raised vertically so as to almost touch over the 



