CALIFORNIA THRASHER (Toxostoma redivivum): 11 1/2-13 in. Above brown; throat grayish-white; breast light brown grading to buff on belly; tail long, rusty beneath at its base; long, curved bill; relatively short wings.

Frequents chaparral, staying in or near cover and foraging on the ground in the leaf litter and soft earth where plant food, insects, and spiders are found by digging with the bill. Also forages in the upper story of plant growth for fruits and berries. R. in the Lower and Upper Sonoran life zones on the lower brushy slopes in the western part of the Yosemite region to El Portal.

SAGE THRASHER (Orcoscoptes montanus): 8 - 9 in. Above grayish-brown; below whitish faintly tinged with buffy, streaked with rows of dark brown wedge-shaped spots; outer tail feathers edged and tipped with white; straight, slender bill shorter than head; iris yellow. When perched frequently jerks its tail.

Frequents flats and gentle slopes covered with sagebrush and in winter other types of brushland. S. V. chiefly in the sagebrush country east of the Sierra. W. V. in the San Joaquin Valley. C. V. to Yosemite region. Frequents area near Mono Lake.

MOCKINGBIRD

MOCKINGBIRD (Mimus polyglottos): 10-11 in. Dark gray above; whitish below; large white patch in wing; long dusky tail with outer tail feathers white; flashes of white in wings and tail in flight; eye pale yellow. Song greatly varied, including imitations of other birds.

Frequents nearly level terrain and foothills where there are scattered bushes and small trees. R. chiefly in the Lower and Upper Sonoran life zones. To be seen at lower elevations in the western part of the Yosemite region. C. V. to Yosemite Valley.

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