HISTORY OF THE CEISSAL THRASHER 75 



an inner finishing of similar but finer material ; the outer por- 

 tion was a foot long by seven inches broad ; the inner nest was 

 circular, with a diameter of four and a half inches. The site of 

 this nest is not mentioned. 



Duringthe latter partof March, 1872, Lieutenant Bendire took 

 no less than six nests in Southern Arizona. " The nest," he 

 writes, " is externally composed of dry sticks, some of which 

 are fully a quarter of an inch thick ; the lining consists exclu- 

 sively of dry rotten fibres of a species of wild hemp, or Asele- 

 pias ; in none of the nests did I find any roots, leaves or hair. 

 The inner diameter of the nest is about three inches, with a 

 depth of about two inches. None of the nests were more than 

 three feet from the ground. In two cases I found nests in a 

 dense bushy thicket of wild currant, twice again on willow 

 bushes, and in another instance in an ironwood bush. The 

 usual number of eggs, strange as it may appear, is only two ; 

 they are of an emerald green color, unspotted. The first set I 

 found, March 22d, contained small embryos; the third, next 

 day, was a single egg with a very large embryo; it was broken, 

 and must have been laid as early as March 10th. Prom the 

 number of nests taken it would appear that the bird is com- 

 mon, but such is by no means the case — I believe I have found 

 every nest of it on the Rillito. The Red- vented Thrush is very 

 shy, restless and quick in its movements, and hard to observe. 

 It appears to prefer damp shady localities near water-courses, 

 and confines itself principally to spots where the wild currant 

 is abundant. At present, March 27th, it appears to feed prin- 

 cipally on insects. Its flight is short — only long enough to en- 

 able the bird to reach the next clump of bushes. It seems to 

 have more frequent recourse to running than to flying, and 

 dives through the densest undergrowth with great ease and 

 rapidity." 



