1SS3.] HoLTERHOFF On Nesf and Eggs of LeConte's Thrasher. A.Q 



at the foot of a bush, would disappeai- for a time within its bran- 

 ches, then emerging suddenly near the top, pause for an instant as 

 it to see if the coast was clear, and then resume its short ungrace- 

 ful flight. Being- about the only bird seen for some little time, I 

 sat down in the shade of a mesquite to watch its course and 

 movements. After a series of short progressions it disappeared 

 in a thick palo-verde tree and thei'e remained so long that I be- 

 came suspicious, and, cautiously approaching, had the satisfaction 

 of seeing it at home. I paused, breathlessly, but not before the 

 shy denizen had seen my approach, and, silently dropping from 

 her abode, had flown into a neighboring bush. I eagerly examined 

 the nest, found it contained two eggs, and then withdrew to my 

 former concealment to await the owner's reappearance. This 

 was not immediate, for it seemed shy of returning, and when at 

 last it did so, it was by a round-about course as if wishing to di- 

 vert attention from the nest. Alighting again in the palo-verde, 

 it paused for an instant on a lower branch, and that instant suf- 

 ficed to end its earthly career. Securing my prizes, I loitered 

 around the neighborhood for some time, hoping in vain to see the 

 mate ; but if present it skulked so closely within the thickets as 

 to evade detection. 



The nest, situated about five feet from the ground, was a very 

 bulky affair, set so loosely and carelessly amid the branches that a 

 considerable foundation had been thrown together before the 

 structure was firm enough to bear the nest proper. This was 

 composed of the thorny sticks and twigs of mesquite, loosely 

 intercrossed, and the interior rather neatly lined with reddish 

 fibres and rootlets. The external dimensions were about nine 

 inches in depth and six inches in width at the top ; interior, depth 

 three inches and width about four inches. The cavity was deep 

 enough to conceal the sitting bird, except as to its projecting tail. 

 The two eggs were fresh and presumably an incomplete clutch. 

 They are of a light pea-green color, sparsely marked with fine 

 reddish specks, most thickly at the larger end. In shape they 

 are elongate and tapering, more so than those of allied species, 

 and they come nearer to those of //. curvii'ostris than any other 

 species as yet compared. They measure respectively 1.17 by 

 0.78 inches and 1.13 by 0.77 inches. This bird was the only 

 one of the species met with, and no other nests, old or new, were 

 seen in this locality or elseyvhere in tlie Desert. 



