Mar., 1909 
AMONG THE THRASHERS OF ARIZONA 
51 
and butter cooler. This was against a window under the porch roof and a pair of 
Palmers would come and catch the drops of water as they fell. At a post trader’s 
store near Blackwater the Palmer would come into a porch and drink from the drip 
of an olla or water cooler. Both Palmer and Bendire freqently sing from the tops 
of Indian homes and sometimes from the school house. 
As for singing, the Bendire has them all beaten. The others are fine singers 
indeed, but their repertoire is limited. Not so with Bendire. No two seem to sing 
exactly alike and some of the songs are quite distinct from others. Not only in 
variety of notes but in arrangement, are differences noticed. He is a more con- 
stant singer than the others and I frequently discovered a nest by the song of the 
bird. The earliest date of singing was January 3, and I could hardly believe at 
first that Bendire w T as the performer. It was a low warbling song with a decided 
sparrow “burr” to it. I approached as near as the bird would allow, but could 
not be sure that he was the singer as no throat movement could be detected. When 
the bird flew, the song ceased and began again after he perched on a post. I re- 
peated this maneuver several times before I was convinced that Bendire was war- 
bling. Next evening I walked under a mesquite tree containing the singer and 
obtained a good close view of him and his performance. 
As the breeding season approached they sang more often, the song becoming 
louder and with less of the burr, in fact more like the typical thrasher song, if 
such there be. The songs were all very pleasing, but the variations were often 
puzzling at first. Whenever I heard a new strain I said, “only another Bendire 
tuning up.” They kept up the music till late in June and occasionally a song 
could be heard all summer and up to the last of September. 
Palmer thrasher came next in frequency of vocal effort, and even during the 
summer months and September a part of their song might be heard. Crissal 
thrasher was apparently too busy raising young to sing much after early spring 
was gone, and rarely uttered his call note unless disturbed or the nest approached. 
Molting was quite noticeable the last of July and all of August. Birds would 
be seen in all stages of undress; some being reduced to one feather for a tail and 
presenting a ragged appearance generally. When molting was completed and the 
new suit put on the birds looked fine and the darker shade was very noticeable. 
As the breeding season had advanced the birds became much lighter, especially the 
Palmer, tho all three showed a marked difference. And in their new coats tht 
same relative comparison obtained. 
During the season of 1908 I made notes on 112 thrashers’ nests, apportioned 
among the four species as follows: Crissal, 45 nests; Bendire, 39; Palmer, 27; 
Leconte, 1. The respective numbers of nests may be a sort of index to the rela- 
tive numbers of the species; and Crissal would lead. Judged by other standards 
the verdict is for Bendire, as his frequent singing keeps him in the lime-light and he 
is much in the public ear. Next would come Palmer, who talks much more than 
Bendire tho he sings less. His frequently uttered liquid notes of “queet-eet” 
may be heard all seasons of the year, and he is fond of perching in the top of a 
bush or on a post even when not singing. Crissal is the silent partner of the trio and 
by keeping to the low underbrush and thickets is seldom seen. His call notes of 
“queety-queety” are occasionally heard from the mesquites, and sometimes a song. 
It seems to me that Crissal sings less here than among the mesquites of the Salton 
Sink country in California. Perhaps it is because he is here in the numerous pres- 
ence of superior talent, while there the humble Cactus Wren is his commonest com- 
petitor. Bendire’s call note is a single “queet” and in addition I noticed a scold- 
ing note quite similar to that of the mockingbird, only prolonged and slightly 
