The FERRUGINOUS MOCKING BIRD, or THRASHER (_Taxostoma rufum_), has a
slender body, long wings, a short tail, and a powerful foot. The upper
part of the body is brownish red; the under side, reddish white, striped
with blackish brown upon the sides and breast; the small feathers on the
wing-covers are edged with white, and thus form two light borders to the
pinions; the eye is yellow, the beak blueish, and the foot brown. Its
length is about twelve inches; this measurement includes the tail, which
is nearly six inches. The wing is four inches and one-third.
"This large and well-known songster," says Nuttall, "is found in all
parts of America, from Hudson's Bay to the shores of the Mexican Gulf,
breeding everywhere, though most abundantly in the northern portions.
Early in October these birds retire to the south, and probably extend
their migrations at that season through the warmer regions towards the
borders of the tropics. From the fifteenth of April till early in May
they begin to revisit the Middle and Northern States, keeping pace in
some measure with the progress of vegetation. They appear always to come
in pairs, so that their mutual attachment is probably more durable than
the season of incubation. Stationed near the top of some tall orchard or
forest tree, the gay and animated male salutes the morn with his loud
and charming song. His voice--resembling that of the Thrush of Europe,
but far more powerful and varied--rises pre-eminent amidst all the choir
of the forest. His music has all the full charm of originality; he takes
no delight in mimicry, and, therefore, really has no right to the name
of Mocking Bird. From the beginning to the middle of May the Thrasher
is engaged in building his nest, usually selecting for this purpose a
low thick bush in some retired thicket or swamp, a few feet from the
earth, or even on the ground in some sheltered tussock, or near the root
of a bush. It has a general resemblance to the nest of the Cat Bird;
outwardly being made of small interlacing twigs, and then layers of dry
oak or beech leaves. To these materials generally succeed a stratum of
strips of grape-vine or red cedar bark; over the whole is piled a mass of
some coarse root fibres, and the finishing lining is made of a layer of
finer filaments of the same. The eggs (never exceeding five) are thickly
sprinkled with minute spots of palish brown on a greenish ground. In the
Central States these birds rear two broods in the year; in other parts of
America but one. Both parents display the most ardent affection for their
young, and attack dogs, cats, and snakes, in their defence. Towards their
most insidious enemies of the human race, when the latter are approaching
their helpless young, every art is displayed--threats, entreaties, and
reproaches, the most pathetic and powerful, are tried; they dart at the
ravisher with despair, and lament the bereavement they suffer in the most
touching strains. I know nothing equal to the bursts of grief manifested
by these affectionate parents except the accents of human suffering.
Their food consists of worms, insects, caterpillars, beetles, and various
kinds of berries. The movements of the Thrasher are active, watchful, and
sly; it generally flies low, dwelling among thickets, and skipping from
bush to bush with his long tail spread out like a fan."