Species and Varieties.
COMMON CHARACTERS. Head above, and back, of much the same color.
Crissum barred transversely; rest of under parts plain. Upper
tail-coverts and exposed surface of wings barred. Iris hazel.
Nest in holes or with an arched covering. Eggs reddish-white,
spotted with red and purple.
_a. Thryothorus._
T. ludovicianus. Tail-feathers reddish-brown, barred with
black. Greater wing-coverts spotted with whitish.
Beneath yellow-whitish, washed occasionally with rusty. Sides
plain. Bill from nostril, .45. Length, 6.00. _Hab._ Eastern
Province United States … var. _ludovicianus_.
Beneath rufous; lighter on throat and along median line.
Sides obsoletely barred with dusky. Bill from nostril, .56.
Length, 5.25. _Hab._ Lower Rio Grande … var. _berlandieri_.
_b. Telmatodytes._
T. bewickii. Tail-feathers, except central, black; the exposed
surface and tips only varied with white. Length, 5.50.
Above dark rufous-brown; beneath plumbeous-white; flanks
tinged with brown. Rump and exposed secondaries distinctly
banded. Quills and middle tail-feathers brownish-black.
Length from nostril, .39; along gape, .70. _Hab._ Eastern
Province United States … var. _bewickii_.
Above ashy-brown; beneath, including flanks, clear white;
rump ashy, and, like secondaries, very obsoletely barred.
Quills and middle tail-feathers grayish-brown. _Hab._
Southern border of United States, into Mexico …
var. _leucogaster_.
Colors intermediate between the two last. Bill longer, from
nostril, .50, from gape, .81. _Hab._ Pacific Province …
var. _spilurus_.