hich it is placed. Their eggs are
bluish white, specked with reddish chestnut. Size .58 x .45.
Data.--Chattanooga, Tenn., April 30, 1900. Nest of moss, covered with
lichens and lined with hair and feathers; 20 feet from the ground in a
small tree.

751a. WESTERN GNATCATCHER. _Polioptila caerulea obscura._

Range.--Western United States and Lower California.

The habits and eggs of this sub-species are the same as those of the
eastern bird, and the nests do not differ except, perhaps, in less
ornamentation of the exterior.

752. PLUMBEOUS GNATCATCHER. _Polioptila plumbea._

Range.--Mexican boundary from western Texas to southern California.

This species has a bright shining black crown and more black on the tail
than the eastern Gnatcatcher. They saddle their nests upon the branches
of trees or in upright forks, usually at an elevation of ten feet or
more from the ground; the nests are made of plant fibres and fine bark
strips, compactly felted together, and with little, if any, ornamental
lichens on the exterior. Their eggs are pale greenish blue, spotted with
reddish brown, and vary from three to five in number. Size .54 x .44.

[Illustration 443: Ruby-crowned Kinglet.]
[Illustration: Bluish white.]
[Illustration: Greenish blue.]
[Illustration: right hand margin.]

Page 442

753. BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER. _Polioptila californica._

Range.--Pacific coast of southern California and northern Lower
California.

This bird is very similar to the last but has still less white on the
outer tail feathers. Like the last, the nests of this species usually
lack the exterior covering of lichens, being made of vegetable fibres
and plant down, firmly quilted together and saddled on horizontal limbs
or placed in forks of trees at any height from the ground. Their eggs
are grayish white, specked with bright reddish brown. Size .55 x .44.
Data.--Escondido, Cal., May 17, 1903. 5 eggs. Nest on a large limb of a
sycamore, 30 feet above ground; made of weed fibres, etc., lined with
hair and fine fibres.

THRUSHES, SOLITAIRES, BLUEBIRDS, ETC. Family TURDIDAE

754. TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE. _Myadestes townsendi._

Range.--Western United States, breeding from Arizona, New Mexico and
southern California north to British Columbia.

This unique species is of a uniform brownish gray color, with a white
eye ring, narrow bar on wing, and outer tail feathers, and with the
bases of the primaries rusty colored. It is a ground inh