_Harporhynchus crissalis_, HENRY, Pr. A. N. Sc. May, 1858.—BAIRD,
Birds N. Am. 1858, 350, pl. lxxxii; Review, 47.—COOPER, Birds
Cal. 1, 18.
SP. CHAR. Second quill about as long as the secondaries. Bill much
curved; longer than the head. Above olive-brown, with a faint shade of
gray; beneath nearly uniform brownish-gray, much paler than the back,
passing insensibly into white on the chin; but the under tail-coverts
dark brownish-rufous, and abruptly defined. There is a black maxillary
stripe cutting off a white one above it. There do not appear to be any
other stripes about the head. There are no bands on the wings, and the
tips and outer edges of the tail-feathers are very inconspicuously
lighter than the remaining portion. Length, 11 inches; wing, 4.00;
tail, 5.80; tarsus, 1.25.
HAB. Region of the Gila River, to Rocky Mountains; Southern Utah (St.
George, Dr. Palmer).
A second specimen (11,533) of this rare species is larger than the type,
but otherwise agrees with it. Its dimensions are as follows:—
Length before skinning, 12.50; of skin, 12.50; wing, 3.90;
tail, 6.50; its graduation, 1.45; first quill, 1.50; second,
.41; bill from forehead (chord of curve), 1.65, from gape,
1.75, from nostril, 1.30; curve of culmen, 1.62; height of
bill at nostril, .22; tarsus, 1.30; middle toe and claw,
1.12.
The bill of this species, though not quite so long as in _redivivus_,
when most developed, is almost as much curved, and much more
slender,—the depth at nostrils being but .22 instead of .26. The size
of this specimen is equal to the largest of _redivivus_ (3,932); the
tail absolutely longer. The feet are, however, considerably smaller,
the claws especially so; the tarsus measures but 1.30, instead of
1.52; the middle claw .29, instead of .36. With these differences in
form, however, it would be impossible to separate the two generically.
A third specimen (No. 60,958 ♀, St. George, Utah, June 9, 1870), with
nest and eggs, has recently been obtained by Dr. Palmer. This
specimen, being a female, is considerably smaller than the type,
measuring only: wing, 3.90; tail, 6.00; bill, from nostril, 1.15. The
plumage is in the burnt summer condition, and has a peculiar reddish
cast.
HABITS. Of this rare Thrush little is known. So far as observed, its
habits appear to be nearly identical with those of the Californian
species (_H. redivivus_). It is found associated in the same
localities with _H. lecontei_, which also it appears to very closely
resemble in all respects, so far as observed. The first specimen was
obtained by Dr. T. C. Henry, near Mimbres, and described by him in
May, 1858, in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences.
A second specimen was obtained by H. B. Möllhausen, at Fort Yuma, in
1863. Dr. Coues did not observe it at Fort Whipple, but thinks its
range identical with that of _H. lecontei_.
Dr. Cooper found this species quite common at Fort Mojave, but so very
shy that he only succeeded in shooting one, after much watching for
it. Their song, general habits, and nest he speaks of as being in
every way similar to those of _H. redivivus_.
The eggs remained unknown until Dr. E. Palmer had the good fortune to
find them at St. George, Southern Utah, June 8, 1870. The nest was an
oblong flat structure, containing only a very slight depression. It
was very rudely constructed externally of coarse sticks quite loosely
put together; the inner nest is made of finer materials of the same.
The base of this nest was 12 inches long, and 7 in breadth; the inner
nest is circular, with a diameter of 4½ inches.
The eggs are of an oblong-oval shape, one end being a little less
obtuse than the other. In length they vary from 1.15 to 1.12 inches,
and in breadth from .84 to .82 of an inch. They are of a uniform blue
color, similar to the eggs of the common Robin (_Turdus migratorius_),
only a little paler or of a lighter tint. In the total absence of
markings they differ remarkably from those of all other species of the
genus.