NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 397 



Even when reared from the nest, and under the most favorable con- 

 ditions they were at all times perfectly mute, excepting that the alarm 

 note is often sounded.* When thus confined the plumage likewise 

 fades ; the feathers lose the gloss which they have when the bird is 

 in its natural habitation, and the eye which was once a bright orange- 

 yellow has now lost its fire and has turned a pale, sickly yellow. 



706. Harporhynchus longirostris sennetti (RIDGW.) [130.] 



Sexmett's Thrasher, t 



Hab. Lower Rio Grande Valley. 



Mr. Sennett says that the Texas Thrasher is an abundant species 

 throughout the whole I/ower Rio Grande country, and very abundant. 

 It frequents shady thickets, and is rarely seen in the open plains. Dr. 

 Merrill pronounces it a fine songster, and states that in habits it scarcely 

 differs from the Eastern bird, rufus. 



The eggs, as Mr. Sennett found them, are usually four in the first 

 clutch in April, while second sets, late in May, contain generally three. 

 They are hardly distinguishable from those of H. rufus. Dr. Merrill 

 gives the average size of fifty- two eggs as 1.08 x .82, the extremes being 

 1. 13 x. 86 and -97X.75. 



707. Harporhynchus curvirostris (SWAINS.) [15.] 



Curve-billed Thrasher. 



Hab. Mexico, north to Southern Texas and New Mexico (east of the Rocky Mountains). 



According to Dr. J. C. Merrill and Mr. George B. Sennett, this 

 species is about as common as the Mockingbird or H. longirostris 

 sennetti on the L,ower Rio Grande. It inhabits tangled thickets as well as 

 prickly-pear cactuses and mesquite trees, which afford breeding resorts. 

 In two instances Mr. Sennett found nests in ebony trees near much 

 frequented pathways, and the birds were as tame as Robins. The usual 

 height of nests from the ground is about four feet. Mr. G. B. Benners 

 found a nest of this bird in a Woodpecker's hole in a live oak on the 

 banks of the Rio Grande. It contained four eggs. Dr. Merrill says : 

 " They are, as a rule, readily distinguishable from those of the Texas 

 Thrasher and Mockingbird by the almost invariable lining of yellow 

 straws, giving a peculiar appearance to the nest. They are also more 

 compactly built, are well cupped, and often have the edges well guarded 

 by thorny twigs." Mr. Sennett states that the bird commences to 

 breed in March on the Rio Grande, and rears several broods. 



The first eggs are laid in April, and generally number four ; by 



* Since the above was written a friend tells me that he once had a Brown Thrasher which sang in con- 

 finement, but in a very subdued tone, and only when he was not observed. 



t Cf. Ridgway: Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. X, Aug 6, 1888, p. 506. In A. O. U. Check List this is Har- 

 porhynchus longirostris (Lafr.), Long-billed Thrasher. 



