44 
THE CONDOR 
VOL. VI 
Toxostoma lecontei. Eeconte Thrasher. This wary bird we found to fully 
warrant the many stories we had heard of its extreme shyness. Mr. Gilman, 
who has probably had as much experience with Leconte thrashers as any one, 
showed us where to find them, and how to secure specimens by running them 
down. The latter procedure I found rather discouraging myself, for I failed to 
get a single bird. But it was like watching a mimic battle to see Mr. Gilman 
charging across the country, dodging cactus clumps or jumping clear of them, as he 
could, every now and then haulting abruptly to aim and fire. His successs proved 
the correctness of his methods. 
Toxostoma crissale. Crissal Thrasher. Mr. Mailliard secured one specimen 
and saw another among the mesquites along the big ditch south of Palm Springs. 
In this same locality Mr. Gilman has found the species nesting. (Condor IV, p. 
15.) This marks the westernmost limit of the bird’s range. 
Heleodytes b. couesi. Cactus Wren. Fairly common out on the desert; and 
also, as surprised me when I first found them, in Palm Canyon. In the latter lo- 
cality they made themselves at home among the drooping dead leaves beneath the 
green heads of the lofty palms. The birds could be plainly heard rattling about 
inside, but were difficult to drive out. Doubtless such palm-leaf bowers afforded 
insect food in plenty, as well as a well-protected retreat. The San Diego and can- 
yon wrens had taken similar advantage of the palms. The specimens of the cac- 
tus wren secured, when compared with numerous other skins from Arizona and 
the San Diegan district present no tangible differences. A fairly careful study of 
my material points towards the correctness of Mr. Swarth’s conclusions (Condor 
VI, p. 17) in regard to the absolute uniformity of the race as occurring in the 
southwestern states. 
Salpinctes obsoletus. Rock Wren. Uniformly common on the boulder- 
strewn mountain sides as well as among mammal burrows out on the level desert. 
Catherpes m. punctulatus. Dotted Canyon Wren. This unique songster was 
numerous about and within the buildings at Palm Springs. In the morning be- 
fore it was really bright daylight we were often aroused by these birds scratching 
about on the roof, sometimes coining into our rooms through spaces under the 
eaves. In fact Mr. Mailliard chased one under the bed. But the birds refused to 
be cornered, for they were evidently familiar with every exit. Their hoarse notes 
resounded lonesomely through the house; and now and then burst forth the beau- 
tifully-modulated, descending series of notes which never fails to thrill one with 
delight. Aside from the immediate neighborhood of the Springs, we found the 
canyon wren only in Palm Canyon, where many were detected as they dodged in 
and out of crevices between huge granite slabs, or scurried about wdthin the 
reversed tussocks of palm leaves. 
Thryomanes b. charienturus. .San Diego Wren. Very numerous in Palm 
Canyon; also fairly common in the mesquite brush along the big ditch. This 
form is here probably only a winter visitant from the San Jacinto region a short 
distance to the westward. 
Thryomanes b. eremophilus. Desert Bewick Wren. I secured a single bird, 
clearly referable to this form, on the desert four miles southeast of Palm Springs, 
December 30. It was a female in unworn plumage, and differed markedly from 
the San Diego wren. In fact when I first saw the bird I mistook it for a rock 
wren; for it was skipping from weed to weed and alighting on the ground much 
after the fashion of the last named bird. Its pale coloration and large size readily 
distinguish it from the San Diego wren. This was probably a winter visitant 
