The song of this bird, though very deficient in power,—in this respect equalling no other species of _Miminæ_ with which I am acquainted,—is nevertheless superior to most of them in sweetness, vivacity, and variety. It has a wonderful resemblance to the beautiful subtle warbling of the _Regulus calendula_, having in fact very much the same style, with much of the tone, and about the power of the song of the _Pyranga rubra_. When the birds are engaged in incubation, the males become very silent, and one not familiar with their habits earlier in the season would think they never had a voice; in fact, they make no protestations even when the nest is disturbed, for, while blowing the eggs, I have had the parent birds running around me, in the manner of a robin, now and then halting, stretching forward their heads, and eying me in the most anxious manner, but remaining perfectly silent. When the young are hatched the parents become more solicitous, signifying their concern by a low, subdued _chuck_. At all times when the nest is approached, the bird generally leaves it slyly before one approaches very near it. The nest is very bulky, composed externally of rough sticks, principally the thorny twigs of the various “sage bush” plants. Nearer the centre the principal material is fine strips of inner bark of these plants; and the lining consists of finer strips of bark, mingled with fine roots, and bits of rabbit fur. The situation of the nest varies but little, being generally placed near the middle of a bush, that is, about eighteen inches from the ground. It is generally supported against the main trunk, upon a horizontal branch. Several were found upon the ground beneath the bush, one, in fact, embedded in the soil, like that of a _Pipilo_; or as sometimes the case with the _Harporhynchus rufus_, others, again, were found in brush-heaps. In all cases, the nest was very artfully concealed, the situation being so well selected. This bird is almost equally common in all parts of its habitat, within the limits indicated. In June, we found it abundant on the large islands in the Great Salt Lake, where many nests were found. In autumn, it feeds, in company with many other birds, upon berries, “service berries” being its especial favorite. GENUS HARPORHYNCHUS, CABANIS. _Toxostoma_, WAGLER, Isis, 1831, 528. (Type _T. vetula_, WAGL., not _Toxostoma_, RAF. 1816.) _Harpes_, GAMBEL, Pr. A. N. S. Phila. II. 1845, 264. (Type _Harpes redivivus_, GAMB., not of GOLDFUSS, 1839.) _Harporhynchus_, CABANIS, Archiv f. Naturg. 1848, I. 98. (Type _Harpes redivivus_, GAMB.) _Methriopterus_, REICH. Av. Syst. Nat. 1850, pl. iv. (Type said by Gray to be _H. rufus_.) [Line drawing: _Harporhynchus rufus._ 2261]