These birds are common on the prairies and breed abundantly on the plains of the interior of northern United States and Manitoba. They have a flight song which is said to be fully equal to that of the famous European Skylark. They nest on the ground under tufts of grass or up-turned sods, lining the hollow with fine grasses; their three or four eggs are grayish white, finely specked with grayish black or purplish. Size .85 × .60. Data.--Crescent Lake, Canada. Nest of fine dried grasses, built in the ground at the side of a sod. DIPPERS. Family CINCLIDÆ 701. DIPPER. _Cinclus mexicanus unicolor._ Range.--Mountains of western North America from Alaska to Central America. These short-tailed, grayish colored birds are among the strangest of feathered creatures; they frequent the sides of mountain streams where they feed upon aquatic insects and small fish. Although they do not have webbed feet, they swim on or under water with the greatest of ease and rapidity, using their wings as paddles. They have a thrush-like bill and the teetering habits of the Sandpiper, and they are said to be one of the sweetest of songsters. They nest among the rocks along the banks of swiftly flowing streams, and sometimes beneath falls; the nests are large round structures of green moss, lined with fine grass and with the entrance on the side. The eggs are pure white, four or five in number, and laid during May or June. Size 1.00 × .70. WRENS, THRASHERS, ETC. Family TROGLODYTIDÆ 702. SAGE THRASHER. _Oreoscoptes montanus._ Range.--Plains and valleys of western United States, east of the Sierra Nevadas, from Montana to Mexico. This species is abundant in the sage regions of the west, nesting on the ground or at low elevations in sage or other bushes. Their nests are made of twigs, rootlets and bark strips, lined with fine rootlets; the three or four eggs are a handsome greenish blue, brightly spotted with reddish brown and gray. Size .95 × .70. Data.--Salt Lake Co., Utah, May 11, 1900. Nest placed in a sage bush; made of twigs of the same and lined with bark strips. Collector, W. H. Parker, (Crandall collection.) [Illustration 421: Grayish white.] [Illustration: Sage Thrasher.] [Illustration: Greenish blue.] [Illustration: right hand margin.] Page 420 703. MOCKINGBIRD. _Mimus polyglottos polyglottos_. Range.--South Atlantic and Gulf States, north to New Jersey and Illinois. These noted birds are very common in the south where they are found, and nest about houses in open woods, fields, and along roadways; their nests are rude, bulky structures of twigs, grasses, leaves, etc., placed in trees or bushes at low elevations; the three to five eggs are usually dull greenish blue, boldly spotted with brownish. Size .95 × .72. 703a. WESTERN MOCKINGBIRD. _Mimus polyglottos leucopterus._ Range.--Southwestern United States from Texas to California, and southward.