254 
SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — PASSE EES — OSCINES. 
the same. 9 similar, rather smaller. Coast region of California, abundant in dense chaparral; 
nest a rude platform of twigs, roots, grasses, leaves, etc., in hushes; eggs 2-3, 1.15 X 0.85, 
bluish-green, with olive and russet-brown spots. 
24. H. r. lecon'tii. (To Dr. John L. Le Conte, the entomologist.) Yuma Thrasher. This 
form, with size and proportions the same as those of redivivus proper, dilfers very notably in 
the pallor of all the coloration, being in fact a bleached desert race. Excepting the slight 
maxillary streaks, there are no decided markings anywhere ; and the change from the pale 
ash of the general under parts to the brownish -yellow of the lower belly and crissum is very 
gradual. Valley of the Gila and Lower Colorado : very rare. Nest in bush, bulky, loose, 
deep; eggs 2, 1.15X0.77, pale greenish, dotted with reddish. 
25. H. crissa'lis. (Lat. crissalis, relating to the crissum, or under tail-coverts. Fig. 126.) Crissal 
Thrasher. Brownish-ash, 
with a faint olive shade, the 
wings and tail purer and darker 
fuscous, without white edging or 
tipping. Below, a paler shade 
of the color of the upper parts. 
Throat and side of the lower jaw 
white, with sharp black maxil- 
lary streaks. Cheeks and au- 
riculars speckled with whitish. 
Fig. 126.— Crissal Thrasher, nat. size. (Ad nat. del. E. C.) Under tail-coverts rich chestnut, 
in marked contrast with the surrounding parts. Bill black, at the maxunum of length, slen- 
derness, and curvature ; feet blackish. Length about 12.00 ; wing 4.00-4.25 ; tail 5.50-6.00 ; 
its lateral feathers 1.50 shorter than the central ones; bill 1.50; tarsus 1.33; middle toe 
aud claw 1.25. This fine species is distinguished by the strongly chestnut under tail-coverts, 
the contrast being as great as that seen in the cat-bird. The sharp black maxillary streaks are 
also a strong character. The bill is extremely slender, the tail at a maximum of length, and 
the feet are notably smaller than those of U. redivivus. Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and 
California in the Colorado Valley, common in chaparral ; nest in bushes near the ground, of 
twigs lined with vegetable fibres ; eggs usually 2, emerald green, unspotted. 
3. Subfamily CINCLIN/E: Dippers. 
Wing of 10 primaries, the 
1st of which is spurious, and, 
like the others, falcate ; 2d 
primary entering into the 
point of wing ; wing short, 
stiff, rounded, and concavo- 
convex. Tail still shorter 
than the wing, soft, square, 
of 12 broad, rounded feathers, 
almost hidden by the coverts, 
which reach nearly or quite 
to the end, the under being 
especially long and full. . Tarsi 
booted, about as long as the 
middle toe and claw. Lateral 
toes equal in length. Claws 
all strongly curved. Bill 
Fig. 127. — European Dipper, C. aquaticus. (From Dixon.) 
