iSS6.J ' Mis.hK-iis ott ike Birds of Arizona. 3^5 



place I sincerely trust none of my readers may be required to 

 sojourn, at the same season of the year, unless it be for the pur- 

 pose of capturing some of these wild will-o'-the-wisps, in which 

 case they could scarcely select a more favorable collecting ground ; 

 but, unless more fortunate than I was, their toil will be but ill 

 requited. The region is a desert waste of sand, covered in places 

 with patches of sagebrush and groves of cholla cactuses, with a 

 few mesquites and shrubs scattered along the dry arroyos. 



I left camp in company with Dr. Paul Clendenin in the early 

 morning, and these Thrashers were heard singing soon after, and 

 were hunted until we were completely exhausted from following 

 them, but we were obliged to return to our tent without a single 

 specimen. Perched upon a mesquite-top, one would sing so 

 loudly that it could be distinctly heard for more than a mile, — 

 long before it could be seen upon the open plain, and it was 

 usually oft" to another more distant perch about the time that we 

 discovered it. As the day advanced and the scorching sun rose 

 high in the sky, the Thrashers one by one stopped singing, for- 

 sook the bare mesquites, and ensconced themselves among the 

 sparse brushwood along the dry watei"-courses, where we sur- 

 prised several of them ; but they always managed to retreat so 

 adroitly, whether by running among the bushes or flying close 

 to the earth, that we were completely baffled at each attempt 

 to shoot them. When flying they dropped low down, and per- 

 formed a part of each flight in a tortuous course under cover of 

 the sage brush, ascending to the top of a mesquite like a Shrike. 

 Their flight is, therefore, very diflicult to follow ; moreover the 

 singing of several birds in difl'erent directions added to our con- 

 fusion and diverted our attention. 



On April I we marched from Maricopa to Casa Grande. As 

 before, the Thrashers were heard singing during the early morn- 

 ing. Their song is remarkable for its loud, rich tone, and is at 

 least as fine as that of any other of the genus. Their speed 

 when running upon the ground is truly wonderful. A pair of 

 them w^ere running upon the railroad, and for a little way kept 

 ahead of our trotting horses with ease. One of them was after- 

 wards shot upon a bush, whence its mate flew out at the report, 

 and was brought down upon the wing, but w^as so fleet that we 

 were unable to catch it. Although a number of them were seen, 

 and every eflbrt made to secure more specimens, only one was 

 taken. 



