TUBBIBM— MIMING: MOCKING THRUSHES. 



251 



ions which now obtain in ornithology to place all the species in one genus; but the gradation 

 of form is so gentle that it seems impossible to dismember the group without violence. Tlje 

 arcuation of the bill proceeds p"-^"'' passu with its elongation ; the shortest bills being the 

 straightest, and conversely. There is iJso a curious Cdrrelation of ctilor "with shape of IjiU ; 

 the short-billed species being the most richly colored and heavily spotted, while the bow- 

 billed ones are very plain, sometimes with no spots whatever on the under parts. Our nine 

 forms of the genus are with one exception South-western, focusing in Arizona, where occur 

 four species, two of them not known elsewhere ; two others are confined to Cahfornia ; two 

 to the Mexican border, leaving only one generally distributed. They furnish the following 



Anatysis of Species and Varieties. 



Bill not longer than head (0 87-1.12), little or not curved. Breast .spotted. 



Bill 1.00, quite straight. Above rich rusty-red ; below whitish, heavily spotted and streaked with 

 dark brown. Eastern riifus 17 



Bill 1.12, slightly curved. Above dark reddish-brown, below whitLsh, heavily spotted and streaked 

 with blackish. Te.xas longirostris • 18 



Bill 1.12, curved. Above ashy-gray, below whitish, breast with round spots of the color of the back. 

 Mexican border and Arizona curolrostrLi or palmeri 19,20 



Bill 0.87, scarcely curved. Above grayish-brown, below brownish-white, breast alone with arrow- 

 heads of the color of the back. Arizona . . hendirii 12 



Bill 1.12, curved. Above ashy-gray, below whitish, with profuse distinct blackish-brown spots. 



Lower California cinereus 22 



Bill longer than heatl (1.50), arcuate. Breast not spotted. 



Dark oily olive-brown, below paler, belly and crissum rufescent. Coast of California , . redivivus 2.3 



Pale ash, paler still below, lower belly and crissum brownish-yetlow. Arizona leeontii 24 



Brownish-ash, paler below, crissum chestnut in marked contrast. Arizona, New Mexico, and 

 California cHssalis 25 



17. H. ru'fus. (Lat. rufia, rufous, reddish. Fig. 121.) Thrasher. Brown Thrush. ^ 9 : Upper 

 parts uniform rich rust-red, with a bronzy lustre. Conoealeil portions of quills fuscous. 

 Greater and median wing-coverts blackish near the end, then conspicuously tipped with white. 

 Bastard quills Uko the coverts. Tail 



like the back, the lateral feathers with ^s^ 



paler ends. Under parts white, more .J^^^'^t^-^^^^^^^ 



or less strongly tinged, especially on ,^^^^^^hKw/ 



the breast, flanks, and crissum, with Jll^^^'^^^^^^^^/ / ^~ J"W^~' V 



tawny or pale cinnamon-brown, the ^.5^11'^''^ ^^feg^^pT / V„„. 



breast and sides marked with a profu- ^^.y.' '''2^§8?^^^^^^P j-'^ J^ 

 sion of well-defined spots of dark ''^"^-" T'^*^*^^^^'^ 

 brown, oval in front, becomine; more *' /^^ ^"^^V^i'^' —■/ % 



linear posteriorly. Throat immaculate, ^' '' ' 



bordered with a necklace of spots ; ^i^"^*)*' • 



middle of the belly and under tail- ' P^'' 



coverts likewise unspotted. Bill quite 



straight, black, with yellow base of the ■•,« 



lower mandible ; feet pale ; iris yellow Pig 121 —Thrasher nat size (A.d nat. del. E. C) 



or orange. Length about 11 inches; extent 12.50-14.00; wing 3.75-4.25 ; tail 5.00 or more; 

 bill 1.00 ; tarsus 1.25. Eastern U. S. chiefly, but N. to adjoining British Provinces and w! 

 to the Kocky Mts. ; migratory, but breeds throughout its range, and winters in the Southern 

 States. A delightful songster, abundant in thickets and shrubljery. Nest in bushes (some- 

 times on ground), bulky and rude, of sticks, leaves, bark, roots, etc. ; eggs 4-5, sometimes 6, 

 1.05 X 0.80, whitish or greenish, profusely speckled with brown. 



18. H. r. longiros'tris. (Lat. longus, long, and rostris. from rostrum, beak; i. e., long-billed.) 

 Texas Thrasher. Similar to H. rufus ; upper parts dark reddish-brown, instead of rich 

 foxy-red ; under parts white, with little if any tawny tinge, the spots large, very numerous. 



