442 
WRENS, THRASHERS, ETC. 
wing, if they do not get out of sight before the horse gets started, 
though they have many advantages in a country where a horse is 
liable to fall into badger holes and kangaroo rat dens or come to 
deep washouts too wide for a jump. Vernon Bailey. 
712. Toxostoma crissale Henry. Crissal Thrasher. 
Adults. — Bill long, sharply curved ; upper parts dark grayish brown; 
wings without bars; tail faintly tipped 
with rufous ; throat and malar stripe 
white, in contrast to dark fawn or 
grayish under parts; under tail coverts 
dark rufous. Young: similar, but 
Fig. 567. more rusty above, especially on rump 
and tips of tail feathers; lower parts 
more fulvous. Length : 11.40-12.60, wing 3.90-4.10, tail 4.80-6.40, exposed 
culmen 1.20-1.50. 
Distribution. — Breeds in the southwestern United States from western 
Texas to California, and from Utah and Nevada to Lower California. 
Nest. — In bushes or desert willow, made of coarse twigs, lined with 
strips of plant bark. Eggs : 3, plain pale bluish green. 
The crissal, or red-vented thrasher, lives on the rough sides of 
rocky canyons, where there are junipers and low mesquites. In 
fall he is said to eat juniper berries and other small fruits, and then, 
food being plentiful, has a distinct revival of his powerful song. 
Though ordinarily shy, individuals come about ranches and become 
quite tame. (See The Auk, iii. 292.) 
GENUS HELEODYTES. 
General Characters. — Length about 8; tail broad, with wide feathers; 
tarsus scaled behind ; rictal bristles obsolete or very indistinct. 
KEY TO ADULTS. 
1. Belly lightly marked with linear spots . brunneicapillus, p. 442. 
1'. Belly heavily marked with ovate spots. bryanti, p. 443. 
713. Heleodytes brunneicapillus ( Lafr.). Cactus Wren. 1 
Adults. — Throat and breast white , heavily marked with black roundish 
spots, in sharp contrast to huffy brown 
belly, which is sparsely marked with 
linear spots; superciliary white; upper 
parts brown, streaked on back with 
black and white; tail with middle 
feathers brownish, spotted with black, the rest black, only outside feather 
barred with white for whole length. Young: similar, but streaks on back 
1 Heleodytes brunneicapillus couesi (Sharpe). Texan Cactus Wren. 
Coloration dark, throat mainly black, back narrowly striped with white. 
Distribution. — Rio Grande region of Texas, south over Mexican tableland. (The Auk, 
xix. 143.) 
Heleodytes brunneicapillus anthonyi Mearns. Desert Cactus Wren. 
Coloration pallid, tail mostly black. 
Distribution. — Interior deserts of southwestern United States south to Chihuahua, 
Sonora, and northeastern Lower California. (The Auk , xix. 143.) 
Fig. 568. 
