BROWN THRASHER
705. Toxostoma rufum. 11½ 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 or reddish brown over the entire surface (1.08 × .80).
Range.—Eastern N. A., breeding from the Gulf to southern Canada; winters in the southern half of the U. S.
