BREWSTER: BIRDS OF THE CAPE REGION, LOWER CALIFORNIA. 197 
merely indicated by small spaces of brownish or rusty white, confined to the 
extreme ends of the feathers. 
The bill of this species is subject to considerable variation in size and 
proportions, but its shape is fairly uniform. 
My series furnishes no evidence indicating that this Thrasher ever grades 
into T. bendiret. 
The St. Lucas Thrasher is confined to Lower California. It is resident and 
rather generally distributed in the Cape Region, where, however, it does not 
seem to occur at elevations much exceeding 3,000 feet. Mr. Frazar found it 
common in the neighborhood of La Paz and San José del Rancho, somewhat 
less numerous at Triunfo, and “ very scarce ’’ at San José del Cabo. 
Mr. Bryant says that he met with it “throughout the overland route from 
Comondu to San Quintin,” but this was before T. c. mearnsit had been de- 
scribed by Mr. Anthony, who states that his bird (which is decidedly darker 
and more rusty colored than true cinerewm) “is quite common about San 
Quintin [the type locality], and in all suitable places as far south as I have 
collected.” From this we may infer that all the more northern portions of the 
general range attributed to cinerewm by Mr. Bryant are occupied by mearnst, 
but as to just where the two birds meet and intergrade we are left in complete 
ignorance. 
Dr. Brewer states that Xantus found St. Lucas Thrashers with full-fledged 
young as early as April 4, the date of his arrival at Cape St. Lucas, and that 
they “continued to breed until the middle of July.” The nests which he 
took were “flat structures, having only a very slight depression in or near 
their centre.” They were built in ‘‘low trees, shrubs, and most usually, 
cactus plants, and in no instance at a greater elevation from the ground than 
four feet. . . . The eggs vary somewhat in their ground color, but exhibit 
only slight variations in size or shape. Their greatest length is 1.13 inches, 
and their average 1.12 inches. Their mean breadth is .77 inch, and their 
maximum .79 inch. The ground color is a greenish-white, profusely marked 
with spots of mingled purple and brown. In others the ground color is a 
bluish-green. In some specimens the spots are of a yellowish-brown, and in 
some the markings are much lighter.” 
Three eggs in my collection, constituting a set taken at Cape St. Lucas on 
May 30, 1896, by Messrs. Coolidge and Miller, measure respectively : 1.04 x 
.79, 1.06 X .81, and 1.07 X .80. They are dull bluish white, with numerous 
and very generally distributed markings of pale lavender and light reddish 
brown. 
Heleodytes brunneicapillus affinis (Xanrus). 
Sr. Lucas Cactus WREN. 
Campylorhynchus affinis Xantus, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1859, 298 (orig. descr. ; 
type from Cape St. Lucas). Barron, Jbid., 301 (Cape St. Lucas), 503, 304 
(crit.; Cape St. Lucas); Rev. Amer. Birds, pt. I. 1864, 98, 100, 101 (descr. ; 
1 Auk, XII. 1895, 62, 58. 
