PERCHING BIRDS 
[699-] Red-throated Pipit. Anthus 
cervinus. 
Range. — An Old World species; accidental in 
the Aleutians and Lower California. 
The nesting habits of this bird are like those 
of the others of the genus. 
700. Sprague’s Pipit. Anthus spraguei. 
Range. — Interior of North America, breed- 
ing from Wyoming north to Saskatchewan. 
Winters in the plains of Mexico. 
These birds are common on 
the prairies and breed abund- 
antly on the plains of the in- 
terior of northern United 
States and Manitoba. They 
have a flight song which is 
Grayish white said to f u iiy equal to that 
of the famous European Skylark. They nest on 
the ground under tufts of grass or up-turned 
sods, lining the hollow with fine grasses; their 
three or four eggs are grayish white, finely specked with grayish black or pur- 
plish. Size .85 x .60. Data. — Crescent Lake, Canada. Nest of fine dried 
grasses, built in the ground at the side of a sod. 
DIPPERS. Family CINCLID^ 
701. Dipper. Cinclus mexicanus unicolor. 
Range — Mountains of western North America from Alaska to Central America. 
These short-tailed, grayish colored birds are among the strangest of feathered 
creatures; they frequent the sides of mountain streams where they feed upon 
aquatic insects and small fish. Although they do not have webbed feet, they 
swim on or under water with the greatest of ease and rapidity, using their 
wings as paddles. They have a tlirush-like bill and the teetering habits of the 
Sandpiper, and they are said to be one of the sweetest of songsters. They nest 
among the rocks along the banks of swiftly flowing streams, and sometimes 
beneath falls; the nests are large round structures of green moss, lined with 
fine grass and with the entrance on the side. The eggs are pure white, four or 
five in number, and laid during May or June. Size 1.00 x .70. 
WRENS, THRASHERS, ETC. Family TROGLODYTIDyE 
702. Sage Thrasher. Oreoscoptes montanus. 
Range. — Plains and valleys of western United States, east of the Sierra Ne- 
vadas, from Montana to Mexico. 
This species is abundant in the sage regions of the west, 
nesting on the ground or at low elevations in sage or other 
bushes. Their nests are made of twigs, rootlets and bark 
strips, lined with fine rootlets; the three or four eggs are a 
handsome greenish blue, brightly spotted with reddish brown 
and gray. Size .95 x .70. Data/ — Salt Lake Co., Utah, May 
11, 1900. Nest placed in a sage bush; made of twigs of the 
same and lined with bark strips. Collector, W. H. Parker, 
(Crandall collection.) 
Greenish blue 
Sage Thrasher 
419 
