340 LAND BIRDS 



gray mother bird is brooding the eggs. The harsh voices 

 of both sexes soften to musical gurgles when they are 

 near the young in the nest, and the cruel, bloodthirsty 

 villain of popular bird lore loses the fierceness he is sup- 

 posed to possess. The young Shrikes inherit the family 

 traits of patience and silence, and even when hungry, 

 cuddle down in unwinking stillness, evidently having 

 fullest confidence that somehow their wants will be 

 relieved. 



703 a. WESTERN MOCKINGBIRD. — Mimus polyglottos 

 leucopterus. 



Family : The Wrens, Thrashers, etc. 



Length: 9.00-11.00. 



Adults: Upper parts plain gray ; wings and tail blackish ; wings with 

 white patch at base of primaries ; wing-bars, white-tipped wing-quills, 

 and tertials with whitish edgings ; under parts white, tinged with 

 grayish, more brownish in autumn. 



Young: Upper parts more brownish, back indistinctly streaked or 

 spotted with darker ; breast spotted with dusky. 



Geographical Distribution: United States (rare north of latitude 38°), 

 from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific coast, and in Lower California. 



California Breeding Range : Chiefly in the San Diegan district, but also 

 throughout the lower Sonoran zone to San Joaquin valley. 



Breeding Season : April, May, and June. 



Nest: Of small twigs and weeds ; lined with finer material and some- 

 times horsehair and cotton ; placed from 6 inches to 50 feet high, in 

 thick bushes, hedges, vines, and trees. 



Eggs: 4 or 5 ; pale bluish or greenish, spotted with reddish brown. 

 Size 0.94 X 0.71. 



The Western Mockingbird is to Southern California 

 what the American robin is to the Eastern States, — the 

 friendly dweller near the homes of men. From the fruit 

 trees in the orchard, from the shrubs on the lawn, from 

 the tops of the house chimneys, he pours " such a flood 



