ANDKRSON — THE BIRDS OF IOWA. 367 



arbors, from one to ten feet from the ground. Although the Cat- 

 bird is known to eat fruits in garden and orchard, the large num- 

 bers of insects destroyed more than compensate for the other 

 damage. Although, when disturbed or near the nest, the note 

 of the Catbird is a harsh and derisive ";;/<f7C'," the true song is 

 very melodious and pleasing. 



Genus ToxOvSTOma Vieillot. 

 Subgenus Toxostoma Vieillot. 



328. (705). 'Toxosfoma rufuvi (Linn.). Brown Thrasher. 



The Brown Thrasher is an abundant summer resident in all 

 portions of Iowa, though perhaps more abundant as a migrant in 

 many localities. It arrives during the latter part of April and 

 departs about the latter part of September. B. H. Wilson reports 

 a straggler shot March 22, 1890 (Scott). The iiests are usually 

 placed in thickets, dense bushes, or brush heaps, usually not more 

 than six or eight feet from the ground. I found one nest which 

 was placed on the ground in an open space in a willow thicket 

 near Lime Creek, Winnebago county. The eggs are three to six 

 in number, usually deposited from the early part of May until 

 July. The Browm Thrasher is an accomplished musician, usually 

 singing from the upper branches of a tree in the morning and 

 evening. He also frequently mocks the notes of other birds with 

 remarkable fidelity. 



Subfamily TROGLODYTIN^. Wrens. 

 Genus Salpinctes Cabanis. 



329. (715). Salpiiides obsoletus {S^y). Rock Wren. 



The Rock Wren is a Western bird which has very rarely been 

 observed in Iowa. It was first recorded from Iowa by T. Martin 

 Trippe, who took a specimen in October, and saw several others, 

 in Decatur county (Proc. Bost. Soc, xv, 1872, p. 236). He states: 

 "It was seen on sev^eral occasions, far out on the prairie, running 

 over the ties on the railroad track, retreating, when alarmed, into 

 the dense prairie grass" (Am. Nat., 1873, p. 566). This record is 

 also quoted by Coues, Birds of the Colo. Val., p. 161; Birds of the 

 N. W., p. 28; Key to N. A. Birds, p. 276; Baird, Brewer, and 

 Ridgway, Land Birds, iii, p. 503; Cooke, Bird Migr. in Miss. Val., 



