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, breeding from Wyoming north to Saskatchewan. Winters in the plains of Mexico.

These birds are common on the prairies and breed abundantly on the plains of the interior of northern United States and Manitoba. They have a flight song which is said to be fully 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 purplish. Size .85 × .60. Data.--Crescent Lake, Canada. Nest of fine dried grasses, built in the ground at the side of a sod.

DIPPERS. Family CINCLIDÆ

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 thrush-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 × .70.

WRENS, THRASHERS, ETC. Family TROGLODYTIDÆ

702. Sage Thrasher. Oreoscoptes montanus.

Range.--Plains and valleys of western United States, east of the Sierra Nevadas, 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 × .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.)

703. Mockingbird. Mimus polyglottos polyglottos.

Range.--South Atlantic and Gulf States, north to New Jersey and Illinois.

These noted birds are very common in the south where they are found, and nest about houses in open woods, fields, and along roadways; their nests are rude, bulky structures of twigs, grasses, leaves, etc., placed in trees or bushes at low elevations; the three to five eggs are usually dull greenish blue, boldly spotted with brownish. Size .95 × .72.

703a. Western Mockingbird. Mimus polyglottos leucopterus.

Range.--Southwestern United States from Texas to California, and southward.

This subspecies is as common in its range, and its habits are the same as those of the eastern bird. The nests and eggs are identical with those of the last, and like that variety they frequently nest in odd places as do all common birds when they become familiar with civilization.

704. Catbird. Dumetella carolinensis.

Range.--North America, breeding from the Gulf States to the Saskatchewan; rare on the Pacific coast; winters in the Gulf States and southward.

This well known mimic is abundant in the temperate portions of its range, frequenting open woods, swamps, hillsides and hedges. Their nests are usually low down in bushes or trees, and are constructed similarly to those of the Mockingbird, of twigs and rootlets; a tangled mass of vines and briers is a favorite place for them to locate their home. Their eggs are laid in the latter part of May or during June, and are from three to five in number and a bright bluish green in color, unmarked. Size .95 × .70.

705. Brown Thrasher. Toxostoma rufum.

Range.--Eastern North America, breeding from the Gulf States north to Canada. Winters in the Gulf States and southward.

This large, handsome songster is found breeding in just such localities as are preferred by the Catbird and the two are often found nesting in the same hedge or thicket. The nests, too, are similar but that of the Thrasher is usually more bulky; besides building in bushes they frequently nest on the ground, lining the hollow under some bush with fine rootlets. Their three to five eggs are laid during May or June; they are whitish or pale greenish white, profusely dotted with reddish brown. Size 1.05 × .80.

706. Sennett's Thrasher. Toxostoma longirostre sennetti.

Range.--Southern Texas and northeastern Mexico.

Very similar to the last but darker above and with the spots on the breast blacker and more distinct. This species which is very abundant in the Lower Rio Grande Valley nests the same as the last species in thick hedges and the eggs are very similar to those of the Brown Thrasher, but in a large series, average more sparingly marked over the whole surface and with a more definite wreath about the large end.

Data.--Corpus Christi, Texas, May 12, 1899. Nest of twigs and vines in a bush in thicket. Six feet from the ground.

707. Curve-billed Thrasher. Toxostoma curvirostre curvirostre.

Range.--Mexico, north to southern Texas and eastern New Mexico.

This species is a uniform ashy gray above and soiled white below; the bill is stout and decurved. These birds are as numerous in the Lower Rio Grande Valley as are the Sennett's Thrasher, frequenting thickets where they breed in scrubby bushes and cacti. Their nests are rather larger and more deeply cupped than are those of the last species and the eggs can easily be distinguished. They have a ground color of light bluish green, minutely dotted evenly all over the surface with reddish brown. Size 1.10 × .80. Data.--Brownsville, Texas, April 6, 1900. 5 eggs. Nest of sticks and thorns on a cactus in a thicket; 6 feet from the ground.

707a. Palmer's Thrasher. Toxostoma curvirostre palmeri.

Range.--Very abundant in southern Arizona and southward into Mexico.

The nesting habits and eggs of these birds are exactly like those of the last; they show a preference for placing their nests of sticks and thorny twigs upon cacti at elevations below five feet from the ground. Like the last, they generally raise two broods a season.

708. Bendire's Thrasher. Toxostoma bendirei.

Range.--Southern Arizona and Mexico; north locally to southern Colorado.

This species is not as abundant in the deserts of southern Arizona as are the last species with which they associate. They nest at low elevations in mesquites or cacti, laying their first sets in March and early April and usually raising two broods a season; their three or four eggs are dull whitish, spotted and blotched with brownish drab and lilac gray. Size 1.00 × .72. Data.--Tucson, Arizona, April 15, 1896. Nest 3 feet up in a cholla cactus; made of large sticks lined with fine grasses.

709. San Lucas Thrasher. Toxostoma cinereum cinereum.

Range.--Southern Lower California.

This species is similar to curvirostre but the under parts are spotted with dusky. Their habits and nests are similar to those of the other Thrashers and the three or four eggs are pale greenish white, spotted with reddish brown. Size 1.08 × .75. Data.--Santa Anita, June 3, 1896. 3 eggs. Nest in a cactus.

709a. Mearns's Thrasher. Toxostoma cinereum mearnsi.

Range.--Northern Lower California.

This species is described as darker than the last and with larger, blacker spots on the breast and underparts.

710. California Thrasher. Toxostoma redivivum.

Range.--Southern half of California, west of the Sierra Nevadas.

This species is more brownish than the other curve-billed species and has a much longer and more curved bill. They are common in the under brush of hillsides and ravines, where they locate their nests at low elevations. Their nests are made of sticks and grass, lined with rootlets, and the three or four eggs are bluish green with spots of russet brown. Size 1.12 × .82. Data.--San Diego, Cal., Feb. 7, 1897. Nest of sticks and rootlets in a grease-wood bush 4 feet from the ground. Collector, Chas. W. Brown.

711. Leconte's Thrasher. Toxostoma lecontei lecontei.

Range.--Desert regions of southwestern United States, chiefly in the valleys of the Gila and Colorado Rivers.

This species is much paler than the last and has a shorter bill. It is fairly common but locally distributed in its range and nests at low elevations in bushes or cacti. The three or four eggs are pale greenish blue, sparingly dotted with reddish brown. Size 1.10 × .75. Data.--Phoenix, Arizona, April 2, 1897. 3 eggs. Large nest of dry twigs, rootlets, etc., lined with bits of rabbit hair and feathers; 4 feet from the ground in a small shrub.

711a. Desert Thrasher. Toxostoma lecontei arenicola.

Range.--Northern Lower California.

This form of the last is said to differ in being darker above. It is a very locally confined race, chiefly about Rosalia Bay, Lower California. Its eggs will not be distinctive.

712. Crissal Thrasher. Toxostoma crissale.

Range.--Southwestern United States from western Texas to eastern California; north to southern Utah and Nevada.

This species may be known from any other of the curve-billed Thrashers by its grayish underparts and bright chestnut under tail coverts. These sweet songsters are abundant in suitable localities, nesting at low elevations in chaparral. Their nests are large, and bulkily made of sticks and rootlets; the eggs range from two to four in number and are pale greenish blue, unmarked. Size 1.10 × .75.

713. Cactus Wren. Heleodytes brunneicapillus couesi.

Range.--Southwestern United States from Texas to eastern California; north to southern Nevada and Utah.

This species is the largest of the Wrens, being 8.5 inches in length. They are very common in cactus and chaparrel districts, where they nest at low elevations in bushes or cacti, making large purse-shaped structures of grasses and thorny twigs, lined with feathers and with a small entrance at one end. They raise two or three broods a year, the first set of eggs being laid early in April; the eggs are creamy white, dotted, so thickly as to obscure the ground color, with pale reddish brown. Size .95 × .65. Data.--Placentia, Cal., April 15, 1901. Nest in cactus about 6 feet from the ground; made of grasses and lined with feathers and rabbit fur; nest 8 inches in diameter, 18 inches long.

713a. Bryant's Cactus Wren. Heleodytes brunneicapillus bryanti.

Range.--Northern Lower California and coast of southern California.

The nesting habits of this variety differ in no respect from those of the last.

713b. San Lucas Cactus Wren. Heleodytes brunneicapillus affinis.

Range.--Southern Lower California.

Eggs indistinguishable from those of the last.

715. Rock Wren. Salpinctes obsoletus obsoletus.

Range.--United States, west of the plains, breeding north to British Columbia, and south to Mexico; winters in southwestern United States and southward.

This species appears to be quite abundant on rocky hillsides throughout its range; like most of the Wrens they draw attention to themselves by their loud and varied song. They nest in crevices or beneath overhanging rocks, making the nest out of any trash that may be handy, such as weeds, grass, wool, bark, rootlets, etc.; their eggs range from four to eight in number and are pure white, finely specked with reddish brown. Size .72 × .50.

716. Guadalupe Rock Wren. Salpinctes guadeloupensis.

Range.--Guadalupe Island, Lower California.

A similar but darker and browner species than the Rock Wren. It breeds in abundance throughout the island from which it takes its name, placing its nests in crevices among the boulders or cavities of fallen tree trunks and, as is often done by the last species, lining the pathway to the nest with small pebbles. The eggs, which are laid from January to April, resemble, in all respects, those of the common Rock Wren.

717. White-throated Wren. Catherpes mexicanus albifrons.

Range.--Northeastern Mexico and the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas.

The habits of the White-throated Wren are the same as those of the Canon Wren, which variety is more common and better known; the eggs of this species are not distinguishable from those of the next.

717a. Canon Wren. Catherpes mexicanus conspersus.

Range.--Rocky Mountain region and west to the Sierra Nevadas; north to Wyoming and Idaho and south to New Mexico and Arizona.

The Canon Wrens are uniform rusty brown all over except the large sharply defined white throat patch; the underparts, wings and tail are barred with black, and the back is specked with white. Their name is well chosen for they are found abundantly in rocky canyons, ravines, and side hills. They nest in crevices or caves among the rocks, placing their nests in small niches; they are made of twigs, leaves, grasses and feathers, and the three to six eggs, which are laid from April to June according to locality, are white, sprinkled and blotched with reddish brown and lilac. Size .72 × .52.

717b. Dotted Canon Wren. Catherpes mexicanus punctulatus.

Range.--Pacific coast from Oregon to Lower California.

The habits and eggs of this coast form of the White-throated Wren do not vary in any particular from those of the preceding variety.

718. Carolina Wren. Thryothorus ludovicianus ludovicianus.

Range.--Eastern United States, breeding from the Gulf to southern New England and Illinois; resident in the greater part of its range.

These loud-voiced songsters are well known in the south where they are very abundant, being found along banks of streams, in thickets, along walls, or about brush heaps. They nest in almost any suitable nook or corner, in hollow trees or stumps, bird boxes, about buildings, and in brush or bushes. When in exposed positions, the nest, which is made of all sorts of trash, is arched over; the eggs, which are laid from March to June, and frequently later, as several broods are sometimes reared in a season, are white, profusely specked with light reddish brown and purplish. Size .74 × .60.

718a. Florida Wren. Thryothorus ludovicianus miamensis.

Range.--Southern Florida.

A similar bird to the last but darker above and brighter below. Its eggs are not distinguishable from those of the last.

718b. Lomita Wren. Thryothorus ludovicianus lomitensis.

Range.--Southern Texas.

This sub-species is abundant along the Lower Rio Grande in southern Texas, where its habits are the same as those of the others and the eggs are not distinctive.

719. Bewick's Wren. Thryomanes bewicki bewicki.

Range.--South Atlantic and Gulf States, and the Mississippi Valley north to Minnesota and locally to the Middle States in the east.

This species is not common on the Atlantic coast but in the interior it is the most abundant of the Wrens, nesting in holes in trees, stumps, fences, bird boxes, tin cans, etc., filling the cavities with grass and rootlets. Their eggs are laid in the latter part of April or May; they are white, specked and usually wreathed about the large end with reddish brown and purplish. Size .65 × .50.

719a. Vigors's Wren. Thryomanes bewicki spilurus.

Range.--Pacific coast of California.

This similar bird to the last has the same general habits and the eggs are not in any way different from those of Bewick's Wren.

719b. Baird's Wren. Thryomanes bewicki bairdi.

Range.--Southwestern United States, from western Texas to eastern California and north to Colorado and Nevada.

Like the two preceding Wrens, this one nests in natural or artificial cavities, and the four to seven eggs that they lay are precisely alike, in every respect, to those of the others.

719c. Texas Wren. Thryomanes bewicki cryptus.

Range.--Texas, north in summer to western Kansas.

A very abundant bird in Texas. Nesting habits not unusual nor eggs distinctive.

719d. San Diego Wren. Thryomanes bewicki charienturus.

Range.--Coast of southern California.

719e. Seattle Wren. Thryomanes bewicki calophonus.

Range.--Pacific coast from Oregon to British Columbia.

These last two sub-species have recently been separated from Vigors's Wren, but their habits and eggs remain the same as those of that variety.

719.1. San Clemente Wren. Thryomanes leucophrys.

Range.--San Clemente Island, California.

This species is similar to Vigors's Wren but is grayer and paler above. It is not peculiar in its nesting habits and the eggs are like those of bewicki.

720. Guadalupe Wren. Thryomanes brevicauda.

Range.--Guadalupe Island.

A very similar species to the Vigors's Wren; nesting habits and the eggs are not apt to differ in any respect.

721. House Wren. Troglodytes aËdon.

Range.--North America east of the Mississippi, breeding from the Gulf north to Manitoba and Ontario; winters in the southern half of the United States.

This familiar and noisy little Wren is the most abundant and widely distributed of the Wrens; they are met with on the edges of woods, swamps, fields, pastures, orchards and very frequently build about houses, in bird houses or any nook that may suit them; they fill the cavity of the place they may select with twigs, grass, feathers, plant down, etc., and lay from five to nine eggs in a set and frequently three sets a year. The eggs are pinkish white, very profusely and minutely dotted with pale reddish brown so as to make the egg appear to be a nearly uniform salmon color and with a wreath of darker spots about the large end. Size .65 × .52. Data.--Gretna, N. Y., May 29, 1896. Nest three feet from the ground in cavity of an apple tree; made of twigs and grass, and lined with hair and feathers.

721a. Western House Wren. Troglodytes aËdon parkmani.

Range.--United States, from the Mississippi Valley to eastern California.

This variety is grayer above and below than the eastern form, but its habits and eggs do not differ in any respect.

722. Winter Wren. Nannus hiemalis hiemalis.

Range.--Eastern North America, breeding from northern United States northward, and south in the Alleghanies to North Carolina; winters in the United States.

These are the smallest of the Wrens, being but four inches in length; they have a very short tail which, like those of the others, is carried erect over the back during excitement or anger. They are very sly birds and creep about through stone walls and under brush like so many mice; they have a sweet song but not as loud as that of the House Wren. Their nests are placed in crevices of stumps, walls, old buildings or in brush heaps, being made of twigs and leaves, lined with feathers. Their eggs, which are laid during May or June, are pure white, finely and sparingly dotted with reddish brown; size .60 × .48.

722a. Western Winter Wren. Nannus hiemalis pacificus.

Range.--Western North America from the Rockies to the coast, north to Alaska.

This species is much browner both above and below and is more heavily barred than the last; its habits and eggs are like those of hiemalis.

722b. Kadiak Winter Wren. Nannushiemalis helleri.

Range.--Kadiak Island, Alaska.

Said to be slightly larger and paler than pacificus.

723. Alaska Wren. Nannus alascensis.

Range.--Aleutian and Pribilof Islands, Alaska.

Larger and paler than the Western Winter Wren. The habits of this species are similar to those of the eastern Winter Wren; they nest between boulders and in crevices of rocks or stumps, making their nests of moss and rootlets, lined with feathers. The eggs are like those of the Winter Wren but slightly larger; size .65 × .51.

723.1. Aleutian Wren. Nannus meliger.

Range.--Western Aleutian Islands to Alaska. Very similar to the above, both in song and general habits. They nest in the crevices of rocks or between boulders, making their nests of rootlets and grass, lining it with hair and feathers. Usually six eggs are laid, white with a few specks of brown (.58 × .46).

724. Short-billed Marsh Wren. Cistothorus stellaris.

Range.--Eastern United States, breeding from the Gulf to Manitoba and Maine.

This species does not appear to be as common anywhere as is the Long-billed variety, whose habits and nests are similar. They nest in or on the borders of marshes, and nests being globular structures of grasses, lined with hair, and with the entrance on the side; they are attached above the ground or water in marsh grass or reeds. Their eggs, which number from six to eight, are pure white; size .64 × .48.

725. Long-billed Marsh Wren. Telmatodytes palustris palustris.

Range.--United States east of the Rockies, breeding from the Gulf north to Manitoba and New England; winters in southern United States.

These birds are very abundant in suitable localities throughout their range, breeding in colonies in large marshes and in smaller numbers in small marshy places. Their nests are similar to those of the last, being globular and attached to cat-tails or reeds; the entrance is a small round hole in the side of the rush-woven structures and the interior is neatly finished with fine grass and hair. They lay from five to eight eggs of a pale chocolate color, dotted and spotted with darker shades of the same; size .64 × .45. Data.--Delray, Mich., May 27, 1900. Six eggs. Nest a ball of woven flags and grasses, lined with cat-tail down, and attached to rushes in salt marsh over two feet of water. Collector, Geo. W. Morse.

725a. Tule Wren. Telmatodytes palustris paludicola.

Range.--Western United States on the Pacific coast; north to British Columbia.

The nesting habits and eggs of these birds are in all respects like those of the last.

725b. Worthington's Marsh Wren. Telmatodytes palustris griseus.

Range.--Coast of South Carolina and Georgia.

The habits and eggs of this paler form are identical with those of palustris.

725c. Western Marsh Wren. Telmatodytes palustris plesius.

Range.--United States west of the Rockies, except the Pacific coast; north to British Columbia. This variety is like the Tule Wren but slightly paler; its nesting habits and eggs are the same.

725.1. Marian's Marsh Wren. Telmatodytes palustris marianÆ.

Range.--West coast of Florida.

This species is similar to the Long-billed variety but is darker and more barred above and below. Its nests and eggs will not be found to differ materially from those of the others of this genus.