38 SAGE THRASHER. 
gift of song has been awarded to this group of birds with greatest munificence. They 
surpass in power, range and euphony, and variety of voice, all other birds. Many even 
mimic the voices of other species very successfully and weave their imitations into their 
own song. 
We have representatives of the following four genera in the United States: 
1, Oroscoptes Bairp. Sage Thrashers. One species. 
2, Mimus Bork. Mockingbirds. One species. 
3, Galeoscoptes CapBanis. Catbirds. One species. 
4, Harporhynchus CaBanis. Thrashers. Eight species. Only one species in- 
habits the eastern part of North America. The others occur in the 
southwestern part of the United States, especially in Arizona. 
SAGE TARASRER. 
Oroscoptes montanus BAIRD. 
PLaTE IV. Fic. 3. 
Als HE Mountain Mockinesirp is peculiar to and common in the mountain distri¢ts 
q a of the West. It does not inhabit the Alpine regions, but rather the ravines, the 
greater or smaller mountain valleys and more especially the extensive plains in the 
Great Basin covered with sage-brush!, and ranges south into Mexico in winter. It 
frequents almost exclusively the sage-bushes, and the only other bird which inhabits the 
same locality, seems to be the Sage Grouse, or “‘Cock of the Plains’? as it has been 
called by Lewis and Clarke. On this account Mr. Ridgway named this bird the Sacu 
THRASHER. It appears to be most common in Nevada and Utah, extends northward to 
the Columbia, eastward as far as the Black Hills and Fort Laramie, and south-east- 
ward as far as San Antonio and Austin, Texas, where individuals may occasionally be 
met with. My friend Mr. L. Woltersdorf of Chicago, who is a great bird-fancier and 
who visited Mexico in 1879, brought with him on his return, besides Morellet’s Seedeater, 
House Finches‘, Green Jays®, Parrots, &c., some specimens of the Mountain Mockingbird, 
which he had found to be one of the commonest cage-birds in the City of Mexico. 
Like many other western birds this Thrasher was discovered in 1835 by Townsend 
while he was exploring the region of the Columbia with Nuttall. Townsend, an excellent 
collector, and Nuttall, ranking equally high as an ornithologist and botanist, were the 
first to give an accurate description of the bird and its traits. 
On superficial observation the appearance of the Sage Thrasher reminds one 
strongly of the Mockingbird. The spotted underparts especially make it very closely 
1 Artemisia tridentata, 2% Centrocercus ureophasianus, % Sporophila morelleti, | Carpodacus mexicanus, 5 Xan- 
thoura Juxuosa, 
