May 1887.] 



a:n^d oologist. 



71 



sity of dark blue, it is true, but always very 

 different from any color seen in any eggs in 

 large series of Mockingbird. A set of five eggs, 

 taken in Montana in 1885, by Captain Chas. E. 

 Bendire, has a ground color of an intensely 

 deep shade of blue, (as deep in fact, as the or- 

 dinaiy color of Catbird's eggs) spotted and 

 blotched all over the larger end with dark olive 

 brown. Their size is . 98 x. 74; .97x.74; .97 x 

 .73; .97X.72 and .97x.72. 



Another set in the American Museum of Nat- 

 ural History, New York City, consisting of 

 four eggs, resembles this set very closely ; but 

 the ground color seems to have a somewhat 

 faded appearance from exposure to light. Both 

 sets are entirely unlike any eggs of Mocking- 

 bird, and published descriptions seem to be 

 either faultj^, or else fail to convey a correct 

 idea of their appearance, largely due to the un- 

 fortunate comparison with eggs of M. polyglot- 

 tus. 



Since writing the above I have examined a 

 third set consisting of four eggs, in the cabinet 

 of a gentleman in Philadelphia, and they fully 

 sustain what is said above. 



Mockingbird {Mimtis polyglottus). A series 

 of these eggs presents a beautiful sight, as they 

 vary from a light blue ground through several 

 darker shades, rendered doubly dark by reason 

 of blotches of chocolate, purple, russet and 

 brown. In some specimens much of the sur- 

 face is of an unmarked plain blue, and a mass 

 of chocolate or yellowish brown-spots form a 

 well defined wreath around the larger end. 

 Four or five eggs are generally laid, though six 

 are found occasionally; and the bird is an 

 abundant inhabitant of the southern part of 

 the United States. A large specimen measures 

 1.13 X .76, and a- smaller one .81 x .63. 



Catbird {Cialeoscoptes carolinensis). Proba- 

 bly a more abundant bird than even the ubiqui- 

 tous Robin (^Merula migrat oria) ,a,nd to him who 

 is abroad in the early morning he exhibits a 

 power of mimicry and delightful song which 

 compares favorably with the efforts of any of 

 his fellows, though lacking the melodious and 

 liquid notes of the Wood Thrush. 



The eggs are of a bluish green, and fade 

 when exposed to light. In twenty-six nests 

 examined in May, 1885, three contained sets of 

 five eggs each, and the remainder had either 

 four eggs or sets incomplete. Average size 

 .98 X .75. 



Brown Thrasher {Harporhynclms rtifus) . Sets 

 of five eggs ai-e taken as often as sets of four in 

 this locality. They are of a greenish white or 

 soiled white, more or less covered with reddish 



brown dots. They show great variations — a 

 dark green ground with reddish spots being the 

 most beautiful and at the same time the rarest 

 phase. Another variety has a lighter ground 

 of green with spots. One set might be called 

 albinos, the spotting being quite obscure, re- 

 vealing an egg almost white. Another set pre- 

 sents a roseate appearance, owing to its being 

 coveied with bright red spotting all over the 

 eggs and glistening in the light. Others are 

 artistically ringed about the greater extremity, 

 and thus might be detailed an endless variety, 

 both in size, shape and color. They present 

 nearly every conceivable phase and yet to my 

 eye do not possess the characters shown in a 

 series of the Mexican bird {Harporhynchtis rufus 

 longirostris)^ though it would be difficult to ex- 

 plain the diflerence on paper. The average 

 measurement of thirty-six eggs is 1.03 x.80. 



Mexican Brown Thrasher (Harporhynchtis 

 nifus longirostris). It has been the writer's 

 privilege to see a fine series of these eggs with 

 nests in the collection of Mr. George B. Sen- 

 nett, which is now deposited in the American 

 Museum of Natural History, New York Citj^ 

 It presents every phase of conformation and 

 color shown in other spotted eggs, and a nor- 

 mal specimen is undeniably a handsomer and 

 better egg than our common Brown Thrasher 

 (H. rufus). 



A set of four eggs collected in Cameron 

 County, Texas, May, 1886, measures 1.08x.78; 

 1.06 X. 79; 1.05 x. 76; 1.07x.77. The nest is 

 described as being made of sticks and rootlets, 

 flat with but little soft lining, therefore as far 

 as description goes, it closely resembles the 

 architecture of H. rufus. The color of this set 

 is grayish white speckled with reddish bmwn ; 

 thicker at tlie larger end. One egg has a blu- 

 ish tinge. 



A set in the collection of the present writer 

 is of a clearer white ground and the spotting of 

 reddish tends to the wreath pattern around the 

 greater extrennty. Size of four eggs respec- 

 tively, 1.11 x. 78; 1.08 X. 78; 1.06 X. 78; 1.05 x. 77. 



Saint I.ucas Thraslier {Harporhynchus cin- 

 ereus). A set of three eggs taken at Guaymas, 

 Mexico, measures 1.03 X. 72; 1.04x.72 and 1.00 

 X .71. They are of a bluish white ground color, 

 marked heavily with blotches of purple and 

 brown. A set in the collection of Captain B. 

 F. Goss, he tells me, are of a darker ground 

 color, with the same markings; and a set 

 in the American Museum Collection, New- 

 York City, corresponds closely with the 

 above, seeming to have a darker appearance, 

 however. 



