72 



OROTTHOLOGIST 



[Yol. 12-No. 5 



THE 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



AND 



OOLOGIST. 



A MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF 



NATURAL HISTORY, 



ESPECIALLY DEVOTED TO THE STUDY OF 



BII?.ID S , 



THEIli NKSrS AND EGGS. 



DESIGNED AS A MEANS FOR THE INTERCHANGE OF NOTES AND 

 OBSERVATIONS ON BIRD AND INSECT LIFE. 



F. H. CARPENTER, Manag-ing Editor. 



409 Washington Street, Boston, Mass. 



J. PARKER NORRIS, Oologieal Editor, 



204 SoiTTH Seventh Street, Philadelphia, Penn. 



FRANK B. WEBSTER, Publisher. 

 409 Washington St., Boston, Mass. 



As this bird is confined to the Lower Califor- 

 nian peninsular and possibly to the adjacent 

 shores of Mexico, where collectors seldom 

 venture, the eggs remain a great desideratum. 

 Eggs of this species are indistinguishahle from 

 Bendire's Thrasher. 



Bendire's Thrasher (^Ilarpnrhynchus hcmlirci). 

 I quote from a letter written by me to Mr. Oli- 

 ver Davie in 1885, and which he published in 

 the second edition of his Nests and Eggs of X. 

 A. Birds, page 11. "The first set of three eggs 

 was taken April 10, 1885, near Sacaton, Pinal 

 County, Arizona, by Dr. Chas. Carter. The 

 nest was large and curious, being made of 

 twigs and spines from the cactus and other 

 plants. It was placed in a mezquite bush 

 three feet from the ground in a verj^ lonely 

 spot. The eggs have a ground color which J 

 should call a clear grayish white, and blotched 

 with ditterent shades of pale rusty brown. 

 These blotches resemble in style those found 

 on the eggs of the Mockingbird. The eggs 

 show the following measurements: l.Olx.74; 

 1 .00 X .73 ; .98 x .72. The other set of two shows 

 no variation in size, but the ground color is 

 dirty white, and the spots indistinct and alto- 

 gether much inferior to the brighter coloi'ed 

 set just described." 



Another set, collected near Tucson, Pima 

 County, Arizona, on April 5th, 1885, has a dull 

 white ground color spotted with faint brown, 

 thicker at the larger end. Size .97x.74; .99 x 



.74 ; .70 X .75. In a series the spots vary great- 

 ly in size and intensity, rendering no two sets 

 just alike in appearance. In fact one set of 

 three eggs is almost an exact counterpart of a 

 selected set of Texan Cardinal {Pyrrhidoxia 

 sinnata). 



Curve-bill Thrasher {Harporhynchns curviros- 

 tris). The eggs of this species are of a light 

 green ground color, sprinkled generally over 

 the entire surface Avith pin point spots of 

 brown or reddish l)rown. That the eggs are 

 subject to great variation in size may be evi- 

 denced by giving the measurements of two 

 selected sets. Set 1 : taken April 22nd, 1886, in 

 Cameron County, Texas. Nest near ground in 

 a cactus plant; bulky and composed of sticks, 

 grasses, etc. Eggs light greenish, speckled all 

 over with fine brownish red dots. 1.25x.81; 

 1.21X.83; 1.22X.81; l.lGx.81. An elongated 

 set. Set 2: short and blunt; collected May 

 5th, 1886, in Cameron County, Texas, in a 

 bush near the giound. Eggs of a light green- 

 ish blue, finely speckled all over with reddish 

 brown dots; 1.06x.85; 1.04x.89; 1.04x.82 

 and .99 X. 83. In Mr. Sennett's collection this 

 astonishing range in size is equally apparent, 

 which conclusively proves that measurements 

 alone as a standard for identification go for 

 nothing. These eggs very closely resemble 

 those of Palmer's Thrasher, and great care 

 should be exercised in determining the locality 

 from which collected before labelling in the 

 cabinet. The eggs are absolutely indistinguish- 

 able. 



Palmer's Thrasher {Harporhynrhns rurviros- 

 tris palvie.ri). The breeding i)lace of this bird 

 is confined (so far as can be detei'mined) to 

 portions of Arizona and south into Sonora, 

 Mexico. It has just been remarked the eggs 

 are entirely similar to those of H. rurmrostris. 

 Three eggs seems to be the general number, 

 and sets of four are very exceptional. 



A .set in the writer's collection taken in Pima 

 County, Arizona, measure 1.17x.79; 1.19x.82, 

 and 1.20 X. 82. Two other sets collected near 

 Tucson, Arizona, are as follows: Set 1, May 

 22nd, 1880, light greenish blue finelj' speckled 

 with brown, 1.15x.81; 1.16x.79; 1.26x.82. 

 Set 2, Feb. 28th, 188(5, nest in east side of a 

 dioUa cactus about two feet from the ground, 

 (the choUa was two feet high and six feet in 

 diameter). Nest made of coarse thorn twigs, 

 lined with dried wire grass and feathers. Inte- 

 rior diameter, top four inches, bottom two inch- 

 es, external depth nine inches, external diame- 

 ter sixteen inches. Regarding the latter nest 

 the collector says "This nest was remarkable 



