SENNETT ON BIRDS OF THE RIO GRANDE OF TEXAS. 



TURDID^. 



MiMUS POLYGLOTTUS, (X.). — MockingUvd. 



First seen in great numbers at Corpus Ohristi. On the Eio Grande 

 it was everywhere abundant. There can little new be said about a bird 

 so common throughout the South, yet I will give an item or two that 

 may be interesting to some. When I saw him he was in good song. He 

 is a capital mimic; and many and frequent were the maledictions on his 

 pate, when, after long watching, and perhaps a shot through the thick 

 bushes, instead of some expected prize, he made his appearance. I be- 

 lieve there is no bird-note he cannot imitate. While at work at our 

 birds in the court-house at Hidalgo, we were several times greeted with 

 the screeching " cha-cha-la-ca " from the low bushes on the river-bank 

 but a few rods distant. Feeling positive that there could not be a 

 Texan Guan within half a mile of us, we yet went out to satisfy our- 

 selves, and found the cry to be that of a Mocker in excellent imitation 

 of the chachalaca refrain. 



The Mockingbird commenced laying on the Eio Grande about April 

 1. Our first eggs were taken April 5. I know of no eggs having greater 

 variations in markings and ground-color. They varied from a ground- 

 color of the very palest bluish-green and a pure green to a pure buff, and 

 in markings from fine specks over the entire e,gg to great reddish-brown 

 blotches, principally on the large end. The largest egg measured 1.25 

 by 0.72; the smallest, 0.90 by 0.67; the average of a large lot was 0.98 

 by 0.72. Many sets were examined. Young birds were first seen about 

 May 1. 



* 30—^—10.50 X 15.00 X 4.62 x 4.87. Mar. 9, Corpus Christi. 



Harporhynchus rufus longirostris, {Lafr.)Cs. — Long-MUed Thrush 

 Of the Thrushes on our extreme southern border, I found the Texas 

 Thrasher next to the Mockingbird in point of numbers. Usually they 

 keep out of the sight of man, even when their home is invaded and the 

 bird driven from the nest. I do not remember of their making any cry 

 of grief at such depredation. One day in April, while concealed in a 

 dense thicket close by some heavy timber, a pair of this species gave 

 me pleasure for a full half hour. This, I think, was the only time I ever 

 saw them for more than a moment or two at a time. The male was nearly 

 as full of song as a Mockingbird, and his notes seemed much sweeter, 

 not being so loud. They kept very near each other, the female giving 

 frequent little chirps. I was unable to see any peculiarities distinct 

 from the habits of its nearest relative, R. rufus, excepting that it was 

 more arboreal, and built its nest much higher. I found their nests nu- 



* In these lists of specimens, the first number is that of the specimen. The sign for 

 sex follows. The next four numbers indicate respectively the length, extent of wings, 

 length of wing, and length of tail. Other measurements are preceded by the name of 

 the part. Date and locality follow. 



