705. Toxostoma rufum. 11 1/2 inches.

Above bright reddish brown; below white with black spots.

Taken as a whole, I think that the song of this Thrasher is the most musical and pleasing of any that I have ever heard. It has a similarity to that of the Catbird, but is rounder, fuller and has none of the grating qualities of the song of that species. They apparently have a song of their own and do not deign to copy that of others. They are one of the most useful and desirable birds that we have.

Song. - A bright and cheerful carol, often long continued, but always clear and sweet; call, a clear whistled "wheuu."

Nest. - Of twigs and rootlets, in hedges, thickets or thorn bushes; the four or five eggs are bluish white with numerous fine dots of reddish brown over the entire surface (1.08 x.80).

Range. - Eastern N. A., breeding from the Gulf to southern Canada; winters in the southern half of the