SENNETT ON BIRDS OF THE RIO GRANDE OF TEXAS. 5 



song, but I am told by the residents of the country that it sings very 

 sweetly in secluded places, but never in confinement. Ordinarily, one 

 would expect to find its nest in very secluded thickets. The first nest 

 secured was at Hidalgo, April 17. Its location was beneath the roof in 

 the broken side of a thatched outhouse in the very heart of the village. 

 A more exposed place for human view could not be found, nor was there 

 in the village a yard more frequented by children ; yet I could not im- 

 agine a safer retreat from its more natural enemies^Hawks, Jays, &c. 

 The female w^as shot as she came from the nest; and with little ditli- 

 culty I took the nest entire, with its complement of four beautiful, fresh 

 eggs. The average size of nest was about that of an ordinary four- 

 quart measure, although, Irom its irregular shape, it would not set into 

 one. Its depth outside was fully six inches, with an inside depth of two 

 so that when the bird was on, though only six feet from the ground, 

 nothing but its head and tail could be seen. The nest was composed 

 of twigs from the size of a lead-pencil down, and lined with dry 

 grasses. This description will apply to the several others found, with 

 this difference: some were smaller, and in this instance greater care 

 was taken to intertwine the sticks, so that it would hold well together. 

 On April 28th I found a nest and four fresh eggs only three feet from 

 the ground, in a thicket, not far from a nest of H. longirostris. 



On May 10th, while on horseback, I came upon a prickly-pear cactus, 

 wonderful to me for its size and tree-like shape. Its trunk was the size 

 of a man's body, and some of its branches were above my head as I sat 

 on my horse. Its general form was that of a wine-glass. While peer- 

 ing about and poking the ^talks with my gun, I discovered in the very 

 heart of the great cactus a nest and four eggs of this Thrush. It was 

 about five feet from the ground, perfectly exposed above, yet nothing 

 could be more secure from all sides. Not a sign was to be seen of the 

 parent bird, not a note heard, yet I felt sure a pair of golden eyes were 

 peering out of some neighboring thicket. The eggs once identified 

 could not be mistaken for those of any other bird of the region. With 

 some difSculty I secured the eggs, wondering in what other extraordinary 

 place I should find the nest of this species. 



The shape of the eggs is like that of the Brown Thrush's, only longer. 

 The ground-color varies from a pale to a rich pea-green. The markings, 

 are brown, evenly and finely scattered over the entire egg. The largest 

 egg out of twenty measures 1.18 by 0.80 of an inch, the smallest 1.03 by 

 0.79. The length ranges from 1.20 to 1.03, averaging 1.12 of an inch. 

 The breadth ranges from 0.82 to 0.72, averaging 0.79 of an inch. 



133—^—11.38 X 14.75 x 4.37 x 4.25. Apr. 2, Browusville. 



161— 5 —11.00 X 13.25 X 4.12 x 4.25. Apr, 5, Brownsville. 



- 222— 9 —10.50 X 13.00 x 3.87 x 4.00 Apr. 17, Hidalgo. 



272— $ —10.75 X 13..50 x 4.25 x 4.25. Apr. 25, Hidalgo. 



371— ,^—11.00x14.12x3.88x4.12. May 5, Hidalgo. 



373— $—11.00x14.25x4.25x4.25. May 5, Hidalgo. 



