The Turdidæ, with the Saxicolidæ and Cinclidæ, form a group closely related, by common characters, and appreciably different from the other Oscines with slender bills and specially insectivorous habits, having, like them, ten primaries (the first much shorter than the second, but nearly always appreciable), and the nostrils uncovered. The great family of Sylvicolidæ, with similar characters of the bill, never present more than nine primaries. The most striking of these common characters is seen in the deeply cleft toes, of which the outer is united by the basal joint alone to the middle toe, while the inner is separated almost to the very base of its first joint.[21] The frontal feathers extend, with rare exceptions, to the very nostrils. The bill is elongated and subulate, moderately slender, and usually notched at tip; the culmen moderately curved from the base, and the mouth well provided with bristles, except in a few cases. Usually the scutellæ covering the front and sides of the tarsus are fused into one continuous plate, or else scarcely appreciable, except on the inner edge only; in the Mocking Thrushes they are, however, distinctly marked. The lateral toes are nearly equal, the outer rather the longer. With these as some of the principal characteristics, they may be distinguished from each other as follows:—
Note.—In the present work the length of the tail is measured from the coccyx, inside of the skin, and not, as usually the case, from the base of the quills at their insertion. The wings are measured from the carpal joint, with dividers.
A. Nostrils oval. Loral and frontal feathers with bristly points, or interspersed with bristles; rictus with longer or shorter bristles.
Saxicolidæ. Wings very long and much pointed, reaching beyond the middle of the short square or emarginated tail, and one and a half times or more the length of the latter. The spurious primary very short, the second quill longer than the fourth. In the closed wing the outer secondary reaches only about two thirds the length of longest primary.
Turdidæ. Wings moderate, more rounded, not reaching beyond middle of the often rounded tail, and not more than one and a third the latter, usually more nearly equal. Spurious primary sometimes half the length of second quill; the second quill shorter than the fourth. In the closed wing the outer secondary reaches three fourths or more the length of longest primary.
B. Nostrils linear, in lower edge of nasal membrane. Loral and frontal feathers soft and downy, and no bristles or bristly points whatever about the mouth.
Cinclidæ. Body very short and broad. Wings short, rounded, and concave.
The American Sylviidæ are in some respects very closely related to the Saxicolidæ, but may be distinguished by their much smaller size, more slender and depressed bill, more strongly bristled rictus, etc.; on which account they are more strictly “fly-catchers,” taking their prey in great part on the wing.
Of the three families, the Turdidæ contain a great variety of forms, and exhibit widely different characters, rendering it exceedingly difficult to arrange them in any systematic or regular sequence, or to accurately define their boundaries. In the Birds of North America, the Mocking Thrushes were placed among the Wrens, on account of the distinct tarsal scutellæ, and other characters. We are now, however, inclined to believe, with Dr. Sclater, that their place is with the recognized Turdidæ; and, among other reasons, on the ground of their more deeply cleft toes, and greater extension forward of frontal feathers. The following synopsis of the North American forms will serve the purpose of determining the genera, even if these are not arranged or combined in a strictly natural manner.
A. Turdinæ.—Tarsus covered anteriorly with a continuous plate without scales.
Wings decidedly longer than the tail, which is nearly even. Bill considerably shorter than the head.
First quill usually not one fourth the second. Wings pointed. Tarsus hardly the length of head, but yet longer than middle toe; outstretched toes falling short of tip of tail … Turdus.
B. Miminæ.—Tarsi scutellate anteriorly; scales seven.
Wings decidedly longer than the tail, which is nearly even. Tarsus as long as the head.
Bill decidedly shorter than the head, scarcely notched; wings pointed; first quill less than half the second, third and fourth longest. Claws not peculiar. Bristles prominent. Tarsus considerably longer than middle toe and claw … Oreoscoptes.
Wings decidedly shorter than the tail, which is considerably graduated; first quill half or more than half the second.
Bill notched at tip, shorter than head; straight.
Scutellæ very distinct; gonys straight, or even declining at tip … Mimus.
Scutellæ more or less obsolete; gonys convex, ascending at tip … Galeoscoptes.
Bill not notched at tip, lengthened; sometimes much decurved … Harporhynchus.
Note.—In the Review of American Birds, I., May, 1866, 409, I have advanced the suggestion that the N. American genus Myiadestes, usually placed under the Ampelidæ, really belongs under Turdidæ in a group Myiadestinæ. The relationships are certainly very close, as is shown by the characters given below.
Common Characters.—Tarsi without regular transverse scutellæ, except at lower end. Wings acute, pointed, as long as or longer than tail, which is but slightly graduated. First primary rarely half second, which exceeds the secondaries. Base of quills buffy yellow, as are inner edges. Tail spotted or varied at the end. Young birds with many light spots. Very melodious singers.
Myiadestinæ. Bill short, much depressed; mouth deeply cleft; width at base about equal to the distance from nostril to tip, or greater; commissure more than twice distance from nostrils to tip of bill, and nearly two and a half times length of gonys. Legs weak; tarsi rather longer than middle toe and claw. Tail feathers tapering slightly from base to near tip, giving a slightly cuneate appearance to the tail.
Turdinæ. Bill stouter, more lengthened; narrow at base and more compressed; width at base less than distance from nostril to tip; commissure not more than twice distance from nostrils to tip of bill, and about twice length of gonys. Tarsi stouter, longer than middle toe and claw. Tail feathers widening slightly from base to near tip, giving a parallel-sided or slightly fan-shaped appearance to the tail.
The Miminæ differ, as already mentioned, in the scutellate tarsi: more rounded wings, etc.—S. F. B.
Subfamily TURDINÆ.
There are several American genera of Turdinæ not found north of Mexico as yet, although it is not impossible that one of these (Catharus) may hereafter be detected within the limits of the United States. The species of Catharus resemble the North American wood-thrushes (Hylocichla); but the spurious or first primary quill is longer (from one half to one third the second quill), the wings are rounded, not pointed, the tarsus is longer than the head, and the outstretched toes extend beyond the tail. The species to be looked for are C. melpomene and occidentalis.[22]
The North American species of Turdinæ, while retained under the single genus Turdus, yet constitute several distinct groups, which we may call subgenera.
Genus TURDUS, Linnæus.
Turdus, Linnæus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1758, 168. (Type, Turdus viscivorus of Europe.)—Baird, Rev. Am. Birds.
Gen. Char. Bill conical, subulate, shorter than the head; the tip gently decurved and notched (except in Hesperocichla); the rictus with moderate bristles; the wings rather long and pointed, with small first primary (less than one fourth the second); wings considerably longer than the tail, which is firm, nearly even, with broad feathers. Tarsi variable, seldom as long as the skull, the scutellæ fused into a continuous plate, only in rare individual instances showing indications of the lines of separation.
The genus Turdus is very cosmopolitan, occurring nearly throughout the globe, excepting in Australia, and embraces species of highest perfection as singers. In the large number of species known there are many variations in external form, but the transition from one to the other is so gradual as to render it very difficult to separate them into different genera. The sections of the group we adopt are the following:—
Sexes similar.
Hylocichla. Smallest species. Bill short, broad at base; much depressed. Tarsi long and slender, longer than middle toe and claw, by the additional length of the claw; outstretched legs reaching nearly to tip of tail. Body slender. Color: above olivaceous or reddish, beneath whitish; breast spotted; throat without spots.
Turdus. Bill stouter and higher. Tarsi stout and short, scarcely longer than middle toe and claw. Body stout, generally whitish beneath and spotted. (Second quill longer than fifth?)
Planesticus. Similar to preceding. (Second quill shorter than fifth?) Beneath mostly uni-colored; unstreaked except the throat, which is whitish with dark streaks.
Sexes dissimilar.
Merula. Similar to Turdus. Male usually more or less black, especially on the head; females brownish, often with streaked throats. Bill distinctly notched.
Hesperocichla. Similar to Turdus. Male reddish beneath, with a black collar. Bill without notch.
Subgenus HYLOCICHLA, Baird.
Hylocichla, Baird (s. g.), Rev. Am. Birds, 1864, 12. (Type, Turdus mustelinus.)
Turdus mustelinus.
1570
The essential characters of Hylocichla have already been given. The subgenus includes the small North American species, with Turdus mustelinus, Gm., at the head as type, which are closely connected on the one side with Catharus, by their lengthened tarsi, and with Turdus by the shape of the wing. The bills are shorter, more depressed, and broader at base than in typical Turdus, so much so that the species have frequently been described under Muscicapa.
It is not at all improbable that naturalists may ultimately conclude to consider the group as of generic rank.
In this group there appears to be five well-marked forms or “species.” They are, mustelinus, Gm., pallasi, Caban., fuscescens, Steph., swainsoni, Caban., and aliciæ, Baird. The first-named is totally unlike the rest, which are more closely related in appearance.
In studying carefully a very large series of specimens of all the species, the following facts become evident:—
1. In autumn and winter the “olive” color of the plumage assumes a browner cast than at other seasons; this variation, however, is the same in all the species (and varieties), so that in autumn and winter the several species differ from each other as much as they do in spring and summer.
Turdus ustulatus.
Of these five species, two only (pallasi and swainsoni) inhabit the whole breadth of the continent; and they, in the three Faunal Provinces over which they extend, are modified into “races” or “varieties” characteristic of each region. The first of these species, as the pallasi var. pallasi, extends westward to the Rocky Mountains, and migrates in winter into the South; specimens are very much browner in the winter than in spring; but in the Rocky Mountain region is a larger, grayer race, the var. auduboni. This, in its migrations, extends along the central mountain region through Mexico to Guatemala; specimens from the northern and southern extremes of this range are identical in all the specific characters; but the southern specimens, being in the fall and winter dress, are browner in color than northern ones (spring birds); an autumnal example from Cantonment Burgwyn, N. M., is as brown as any Central American specimen. Along the Pacific Province, from Kodiak to Western Mexico, and occasionally straggling eastward toward the Rocky Mountain system, there is the var. nanus, a race smaller than the var. pallasi, and with much the same colors as var. auduboni, though the rufous of the tail is deeper than in either of the other forms. In this race, as in the others, there is no difference in size between specimens from north and south extremes of its distribution, because the breeding-place is in the North, all Southern specimens being winter sojourners from their Northern birthplace.
The T. swainsoni is found in abundance westward to the western limit of the Rocky Mountain system; in the latter region specimens at all seasons have the olive of a clearer, more greenish shade than in any Eastern examples; this clearer tint is analogous with that of the Rocky Mountain form of pallasi (auduboni). In precisely the same region inhabited by the pallasi var. nanus the swainsoni also has a representative form,—the var. ustulatus. This resembles in pattern the var. swainsoni, but the olive above is decidedly more rufescent,—much as in Rocky Mountain specimens of T. fuscescens; the spots on jugulum and breast are also narrower, as well as hardly darker in color than the back; and the tail is longer than in Rocky Mountain swainsoni, in which latter it is longer than in Eastern examples. The remaining species—mustelinus, fuscescens, and aliciæ—extend no farther west than the Rocky Mountains; the first and last only toward their eastern base, while the second breeds abundantly as far as the eastern limit of the Great Basin.
The T. fuscescens, from the Rocky Mountains, is considerably darker in color above, while the specks on the throat and jugular are sparser or more obsolete than in Eastern birds.
In T. mustelinus, the only two Western specimens in the collection (Mount Carroll, Ills., and Fort Pierre) have the rump of a clearer grayish than specimens from the Atlantic Coast; in all other respects, however, they appear to be identical. Some Mexican specimens, being in winter plumage, have the breast more buffy than Northern (spring or summer) examples, and the rufous of the head, etc. is somewhat brighter.
In aliciæ, no difference is observed between Eastern and Western birds; the reason is, probably, that the breeding-ground of all is in one province, though their migrations may extend over two. There is, however, a marked difference between the spring and autumn plumage; the clear grayish of the former being replaced, in the latter, by a snuffy brown, or sepia tint,—this especially noticeable on wings and tail.
PLATE I.
The following synopsis is intended to show the characters of the different species and varieties.
1. Spots beneath rounded, covering breast and sides.
A. Rufous brown above, becoming much brighter toward the bill, and more olivaceous on the tail. Beneath white; whole breast with rounded spots. Nest on tree; eggs pale blue.
1. T. mustelinus. Beneath nearly pure white, with rounded blackish spots over the whole breast, sides, and upper part of abdomen; wing, 4.25; tail, 3.05; culmen, .80; tarsus, 1.26. Hab. Eastern Province United States, south to Guatemala and Honduras. Cuba and Bermuda of West Indies.
2. Spots beneath triangular, on breast only.
B. Entirely uniform in color above,—olivaceous, varying to reddish or greenish with the species. Beneath whitish, with a wash of brownish across the breast and along sides. Spots triangular, and confined to the breast. Nest on trees or bushes; eggs blue spotted with brownish; except in T. fuscescens, which nests on the ground, and lays plain blue eggs.
a. No conspicuous light orbital ring.
2. T. fuscescens. Yellowish-rufous or olive-fulvous above; a strong wash of pale fulvous across the throat and jugulum, where are very indistinct cuneate spots of same shade as the back. Wing, 4.10; tail, 3.00; culmen, .70; tarsus, 1.15. Hab. Eastern Province of North America. North to Nova Scotia and Fort Garry. West to Great Salt Lake. South (in winter) to Panama and Brazil. Cuba.
3. T. aliciæ. Grayish clove-brown above; breast almost white, with broad, blackish spots; whole side of head uniform grayish. Wing, 4.20; tail, 3.20; culmen, .77; tarsus, 1.15. Hab. Eastern Province North America from shore of Arctic Ocean, Fort Yukon, and Kodiak to Costa Rica. West to Missouri River. Cuba.
b. A conspicuous orbital ring of buff.
4. T. swainsoni.
Greenish-olive above, breast and sides of head strongly tinged with buff. Spots on breast broad, distinct, nearly black. Length, 7.00; wing, 3.90; tail, 2.90; culmen, .65; tarsus, 1.10. Hab. Eastern and Middle Provinces of North America. North to Slave Lake, south to Ecuador, west to East Humboldt Mountains … var. swainsoni.
Brownish-olive above, somewhat more rufescent on wing; breast and head strongly washed with dilute rufous. Spots on breast narrow, scarcely darker than back. Wing, 3.85; tail, 3.00; culmen, .70; tarsus, 1.10. Hab. Pacific Province of United States. Guatemala … var. ustulatus.
C. Above olivaceous, becoming abruptly more reddish on upper tail-coverts and tail. Spots as in swainsoni, but larger and less transverse,—more sharply defined. An orbital ring of pale buff. Nest on ground; eggs blue, probably unspotted.
5. T. pallasi.
Olivaceous of upper parts like ustulatus. Reddish of upper tail-coverts invading lower part of rump; no marked difference in tint between the tail and its upper coverts. Flanks and tibiæ yellowish olive-brown; a faint tinge of buff across the breast. Eggs plain. Wing, 3.80; tail, 3.00; culmen, .70; tarsus, 1.20. Hab. Eastern Province of United States (only?) … var. pallasi.
Olivaceous of upper parts like swainsoni. Reddish of tail not invading the rump, and the tail decidedly more castaneous than the upper coverts. Beneath almost pure white; scarcely any buff tinge on breast; flanks and tibiæ grayish or plumbeous olive. Size smaller than swainsoni; bill depressed. Wing, 3.50; tail, 2.60; culmen, .60; tarsus, 1.15. Hab. Western Province of North America, from Kodiak to Cape St. Lucas. East to East Humboldt Mountains … var. nanus.
Olivaceous above, like preceding; the upper tail-coverts scarcely different from the back. Tail yellowish-rufous. Beneath like nanus. Size larger than swainsoni. Wing, 4.20; tail, 3.35; culmen, .80; tarsus, 1.30. Hab. Rocky Mountains. From Fort Bridger, south (in winter) to Southern Mexico … var. auduboni.
Turdus mustelinus, Gmelin.
THE WOOD THRUSH.
Turdus mustelinus, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 817.—Audubon, Orn. Biog. I, 1832, 372, pl. 73.—Ib. Birds Am. III, 1841, 24, pl. 144.—D’Orb. La Sagra’s Cuba Ois. 1840, 49.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 212.—Ib. Rev. Am. Birds, 1864, 13.—Sclater, P. Z. S. 1856, 294, and 1859, 325.—Jones, Nat. in Bermuda, 26.—Gundlach, Repertorio, 1865, 228.—Maynard.—Samuels, 146. Turdus melodus, Wils. Am. Orn. I, 1808, 35, pl. ii. Turdus densus, Bonap. Comptes Rendus, XXVIII, 1853, 2.—Ib. Notes Delattre, 1854, 26 (Tabasco).
Additional figures: Vieillot, Ois. Am. Sept. II, pl. lxii.—Wilson, Am. Orn. I, pl. ii.
Sp. Char. Above clear cinnamon-brown, on the top of the head becoming more rufous, on the rump and tail olivaceous. The under parts are clear white, sometimes tinged with buff on the breast or anteriorly, and thickly marked beneath, except on the chin and throat and about the vent and tail-coverts, with sub-triangular, sharply defined spots of blackish. The sides of the head are dark brown, streaked with white, and there is also a maxillary series of streaks on each side of the throat, the central portion of which sometimes has indications of small spots. Length, 8.10 inches; wing, 4.25; tail, 3.05; tarsus, 1.26. Young bird similar to adult, but with rusty yellow triangular spots in the ends of the wing coverts.
Hab. U. S. east of Missouri plains, south to Guatemala. Bermuda (not rare). Cuba, La Sagra; Gundlach. Honduras, Moore. Cordova, Scl. Orizaba (winter), Sumichr.
Habits. The Wood Thrush, without being anywhere a very abundant species, is common throughout nearly every portion of the United States between the Mississippi River and the Atlantic. It breeds in every portion of the same extended area, at least as far as Georgia on the south and Massachusetts on the north. Beyond the last-named State, it rarely, if ever, breeds on the coast. In the interior it has a higher range, nesting around Hamilton, C. W. So far as I am aware it is unknown, or very rare, in the States of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
It makes its appearance early in April in the Middle States, but in New England not until four or five weeks later, appearing about the 10th of May. Their migrations in fall are more irregular, being apparently determined by the abundance of their food. At times they depart as early as the first of September, but sometimes not until the last of October. It winters in Central America, where it is quite abundant at that season.
The favorite localities of the Wood Thrush are the borders of dense thickets, or low damp hollows shaded by large trees. Yet its habits are by no means so retiring, or its nature so timid, as these places of resort would lead us to infer. A small grove in Roxbury, now a part of Boston, in close proximity to a dwelling-house, was for many years the favorite resort of these birds, where several pairs nested and reared their young, rarely even leaving their nests, which were mostly in low bushes, wholly unmindful of the curious children who were their frequent visitors. The same fearless familiarity was observed at Mount Auburn, then first used as a public cemetery. But in the latter instance the nest was always placed high up on a branch of some spreading tree, often in conspicuous places, but out of reach. Mr. J. A. Allen refers to several similar instances where the Wood Thrush did not show itself to be such a recluse as many describe it. In one case a pair built their nest within the limits of a thickly peopled village, where there were but few trees, and a scanty undergrowth. In another a Wood Thrush lived for several successive summers among the elms and maples of Court Square in the city of Springfield, Mass., undisturbed by the passers by or the walkers beneath, or the noise and rattle of the vehicles on the contiguous streets.
The song of this thrush is one of its most remarkable and pleasing characteristics. No lover of sweet sounds can have failed to notice it, and, having once known its source, no one can fail to recognize it when heard again. The melody is one of great sweetness and power, and consists of several parts, the last note of which resembles the tinkling of a small bell, and seems to leave the conclusion suspended. Each part of its song seems sweeter and richer than the preceding.
The nest is usually built on the horizontal branch of a small forest-tree, six or eight feet from the ground, and, less frequently, in the fork of a bush. The diameter is about 5 inches, and the depth 3¾, with a cavity averaging 3 inches across by 2¼ in depth. They are firm, compact structures, chiefly composed of decayed deciduous leaves, closely impacted together, and apparently thus combined when in a moistened condition, and afterward dried into a firmness and strength like that of parchment. These are intermingled with, and strengthened by, a few dry twigs, and the whole is lined with fine roots and a few fine dry grasses. Occasionally, instead of the solid frame of impacted leaves, we find one of solidified mud.
The eggs of the Wood Thrush, usually four in number, sometimes five, are of a uniform deep-blue tint, with but a slight admixture of yellow, which imparts a greenish tinge. Their average measurements are 1.00 by .75 inch.
Turdus fuscescens, Stephens.
TAWNY THRUSH; WILSON’S THRUSH.
Turdus mustelinus, Wilson, Amer. Ornithology, V, 1812, 98, pl. 43 (not of Gmelin).
Turdus fuscescens, Stephens, Shaw’s Gen. Zoöl. Birds, X, I, 1817, 182. Cab. Jour. 1855, 470 (Cuba).—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 214.—Ib. Rev. Am. B. 1864, 17.—Gundi. Repertorio, 1865, 228 (Cuba, not rare). Pelzeln, Orn. Bras. II, 1868, 92. (San Vicente, Brazil, December.)—Samuels, 150.—Sclater, P. Z. S. 1859, 326.—Ib. Catal. Am. Birds, 1861, 2, No. 10. Turdus silens, Vieill. Encyclop. Méth. II, 1823, 647 (based on T. mustelinus, Wils.). Turdus wilsonii, Bon. Obs. Wils. 1825, No. 73. Turdus minor, D’Orb. La Sagra’s Cuba, Ois. 1840, 47, pl. v (Cuba).
Sp. Char. Above, and on sides of head and neck, nearly uniform light reddish-brown, with a faint tendency to orange on the crown and tail. Beneath, white; the fore part of the breast and throat (paler on the chin) tinged with pale brownish-yellow, in decided contrast to the white of the belly. The sides of the throat and the fore part of the breast, as colored, are marked with small triangular spots of light brownish, nearly like the back, but not well defined. There are a few obsolete blotches on the sides of the breast (in the white) of pale olivaceous; the sides of the body tinged with the same. Tibiæ white. The lower mandible is brownish only at the tip. The lores are ash-colored, the orbital region grayish. Length, 7.50; wing, 4.25; tail, 3.20; tarsus; 1.20.
Hab. Eastern North America, Halifax to Fort Bridger, and north to Fort Garry. Cuba, Panama, and Brazil (winter). Orizaba (winter), Sumichrast.
Habits. This species is one of the common birds of New England, and is probably abundant in certain localities throughout all the country east of the Rocky Mountains, as far to the north as the 50th parallel, and possibly as far as the wooded country extends. Mr. Maynard did not meet with it in Northern New Hampshire. Mr. Wm. G. Winton obtained its nest and eggs at Halifax, N. S.; Mr. Boardman found them also on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and at St. Stephen’s, N. B.; Mr. Couper at Quebec; Mr. Krieghoff at Three Rivers, Canada; Donald Gunn at Selkirk and Red River; and Mr. Kumlien and Dr. Hoy in Wisconsin. Mr. McIlwraith also gives it as common at Hamilton, West Canada. It breeds as far south as Pennsylvania, and as far to the west as Utah, and occurs, in the breeding season, throughout Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Canada.
Mr. Ridgway found this thrush very abundant among the thickets in the valleys of the Provo, Weber, and Bear rivers, in Utah, and very characteristic of those portions of the country.
It arrives in Massachusetts early in May, usually with the first blossoms of the pear, ranging from the 5th to the 20th. It is strictly of woodland habits, found almost entirely among clumps of trees, and obtaining its food from among their branches, or on the ground among the fallen leaves. It moves south from the 10th to the 25th of September, rarely remaining till the first week in October.
It is timid, distrustful, and retiring; delighting in shady ravines, the edges of thick close woods, and occasionally the more retired parts of gardens; where, if unmolested, it will frequent the same locality year after year.
The song of this thrush is quaint, but not unmusical; variable in its character, changing from a prolonged and monotonous whistle to quick and almost shrill notes at the close. Their melody is not unfrequently prolonged until quite late in the evening, and, in consequence, in some portions of Massachusetts these birds are distinguished with the name of Nightingale,—a distinction due rather to the season than to the high quality of their song. Yet Mr. Ridgway regards it, as heard by himself in Utah, as superior in some respects to that of all others of the genus, though far surpassed in mellow richness of voice and depth of metallic tone by that of the Wood Thrush (T. mustelinus). To his ear there was a solemn harmony and a beautiful expression which combined to make the song of this surpass that of all the other American Wood Thrushes. The beauty of their notes appeared in his ears “really inspiring; their song consisting of an inexpressibly delicate metallic utterance of the syllables ta-weel´ ah, ta-weel´ ah, twil´ ah, twil´ ah, accompanied by a fine trill which renders it truly seductive.” The last two notes are said to be uttered in a soft and subdued undertone, producing thereby, in effect, an echo of the others.
The nest is always placed near the ground, generally raised from it by a thick bed of dry leaves or sticks; sometimes among bushes, but never in the fork of a bush or tree, or if so, in very rare and exceptional cases. When incubation has commenced, the female is reluctant to leave her nest. If driven off she utters no complaint, but remains close at hand and returns at the first opportunity.
They construct their nest early in May, and the young are hatched in the latter part of that month, or the first of June. They raise two broods in the season. The nest, even more loosely put together than that of the Ground Swamp Robin (T. pallasi), is often with difficulty kept complete. It is about 3 inches in height, 4½ in diameter, with a cavity 1½ inches deep and 3 in width, and composed of dry bark, dead leaves, stems, and woody fibres, intermingled with grasses, caricas, sedges, etc., and lined with soft skeleton leaves. A nest from Wisconsin was composed entirely of a coarse species of Sparganeum; the dead stalks and leaves of which were interwoven with a very striking effect.
The eggs, usually four, sometimes five in number, are of a uniform green color, with a slight tinge of blue, and average .94 by .66 of an inch in diameter.
Turdus aliciæ, Baird.
GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH; ALICE’S THRUSH.
Turdus aliciæ, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 217, plate 81, f. 2.—Ib. Review Am. Birds, I, 1864, 21.—Coues, Pr. Ac. N. Sc. Aug. 1861, 217 (Labrador).—Ib. Catal. Birds of Washington.—Gundlach, Repertorio, 1865, 229 (Cuba).—Lawr. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. IX, 91 (Costa Rica).—Dall and Bannister, Birds Alaska.—Ridgway, Report.
Sp. Char. Above nearly pure dark olive-green; sides of the head ash-gray; the chin, throat, and under parts white; purest behind. Sides of throat and across the breast with arrow-shaped spots of dark plumbeous-brown. Sides of body and axillaries dull grayish-olivaceous. Tibiæ plumbeous; legs brown. Length, nearly 8 inches; wing, 4.20; tail, 3.20; tarsus, 1.15.
Hab. Eastern North America to shores of Arctic Ocean, and along northern coast from Labrador to Kodiak, breeding in immense numbers between the mouths of Mackenzie and Coppermine. West to Fort Yukon and Missouri River States. Winters south to Costa Rica. Chiriqui, Salvin; Cuba, Gundlach.
As originally described, this species differs from swainsoni in larger size, longer bill, feet, and wings especially, straighter and narrower bill. The back is of a greener olive. The breast and sides of the head are entirely destitute of the buff tinge, or at best this is very faintly indicated on the upper part of the breast. The most characteristic features are seen on the side of the head. Here there is no indication whatever of the light line from nostril to eye, and scarcely any of a light ring round the eye,—the whole region being grayish-olive, relieved slightly by whitish shaft-streaks on the ear-coverts. The sides of body, axillars, and tibiæ are olivaceous-gray, without any of the fulvous tinge seen in swainsoni. The bill measures .40 from tip to nostril, sometimes more; tarsi, 1.21; wing, 4.20; tail, 3.10,—total, about 7.50. Some specimens slightly exceed these dimensions; few, if any, fall short of them.
In autumn the upper surface is somewhat different from that in spring, being less grayish, and with a tinge of rich sepia or snuff-brown, this becoming gradually more appreciable on the tail.
A specimen from Costa Rica is undistinguishable from typical examples from the Eastern United States.
Habits. This species, first described in the ninth volume of the Pacific Railroad Surveys, bears so strong a resemblance to the Olive-backed Thrush (T. swainsoni), that its value as a species has often been disputed. It was first met with in Illinois. Since then numerous specimens have been obtained from the District of Columbia, from Labrador, and the lower Mackenzie River. In the latter regions it was found breeding abundantly. It was also found in large numbers on the Anderson River, but was rare on the Yukon, as well as at Great Slave Lake, occurring there only as a bird of passage to or from more northern breeding-grounds.
In regard to its general habits but little is known. Dr. Coues, who found it in Labrador, breeding abundantly, speaks of meeting with a family of these birds in a deep and thickly wooded ravine. The young were just about to fly. The parents evinced the greatest anxiety for the safety of their brood, endeavoring to lead him from their vicinity by fluttering from bush to bush, constantly uttering a melancholy pheugh, in low whistling tone. He mentions that all he saw uttered precisely the same note, and were very timid, darting into the most impenetrable thickets.
This thrush is a regular visitant to Massachusetts, both in its spring and in its fall migration. It arrives from about the first to the middle of May, and apparently remains about a week. It passes south about the first of October. Occasionally it appears and is present in Massachusetts at the same time with the Turdus swainsoni. From this species I hold it to be unquestionably distinct, and in this opinion I am confirmed by the observations of two very careful and reliable ornithologists, Mr. William Brewster of Cambridge, one of our most promising young naturalists, and Mr. George O. Welch of Lynn, whose experience and observations in the field are unsurpassed. They inform me that there are observable between these two forms certain well-marked and constant differences, that never fail to indicate their distinctness with even greater precision than the constant though less marked differences in their plumage.
The Turdus aliciæ comes a few days the earlier, and is often in full song when the T. swainsoni is silent. The song of the former is not only totally different from that of the latter, but also from that of all our other Wood Thrushes. It most resembles the song of T. pallasi, but differs in being its exact inverse, for whereas the latter begins with its lowest notes and proceeds on an ascending scale, the former begins with its highest, and concludes with its lowest note. The song of the T. swainsoni, on the other hand, exhibits much less variation in the scale, all the notes being of nearly the same altitude.
I am also informed that while the T. swainsoni is far from being a timid species, but may be easily approached, and while it seems almost invariably to prefer the edges of the pine woods, and is rarely observed in open grounds or among the bare deciduous trees, the habits of the T. aliciæ are the exact reverse in these respects. It is not to be found in similar situations, but almost always frequents copses of hard wood, searching for its food among their fallen leaves. It is extremely timid and difficult to approach. As it stands or as it moves upon the ground, it has a peculiar erectness of bearing which at once indicates its true specific character so unmistakably that any one once familiar with its appearance can never mistake it for T. swainsoni nor for any other bird.
The nests measure about 4 inches in diameter and 2¾ in height. The cavity is 2 inches deep, and its diameter 2½ inches. They are unusually compact for the nest of a thrush, and are composed chiefly of an elaborate interweaving of fine sedges, leaves, stems of the more delicate Equisetaceæ, dry grasses, strips of fine bark, and decayed leaves, the whole intermingled with the paniculated inflorescence of grasses. There is little or no lining other than these materials. These nests were all found, with but few exceptions, on the branches of low trees, from two to seven feet from the ground. In a few exceptional cases the nests were built on the ground.
Occasionally nests of this species are found constructed with the base and sides of solid mud, as with the common Robin (Turdus migratorius). In these, as also in some other cases, their nests are usually found on or near the ground. So far as I am aware neither its occasional position on the ground, nor its mud frames, are peculiarities ever noticeable in nests of T. swainsoni.
The eggs were usually four in number. Their color is either a deep green tint, or green slightly tinged with blue; and they are marked with spots of russet and yellowish-brown, varying both in size and frequency. Their mean length is .92 of an inch, and their mean breadth .64. The maximum length is .94 and the minimum .88 of an inch. There is apparently a constant variation from the eggs of the T. swainsoni; those of the aliciæ having a more distinctly blue ground color. The nests are also quite different in their appearance and style of structure. The Hypnum mosses, so marked a feature in the nests of T. swainsoni, as also in those of T. ustulatus, are wholly wanting in those of T. aliciæ.
This bird and the robin are the only species of our thrushes that cross the Arctic Circle to any distance, or reach the shore of the Arctic Ocean. It occurs from Labrador, all round the American coast, to the Aleutian Islands, everywhere bearing its specific character as indicated above. It is extremely abundant on and near the Arctic coast, between the mouth of the Mackenzie River and the Coppermine, more than 200 specimens (mostly with their eggs) having been sent thence to the Smithsonian Institution by Mr. MacFarlane. In all this number there was not a single bird that had any approach to the characters of T. swainsoni, as just given. From the Slave Lake region, on the other hand, T. swainsoni was received in nearly the same abundance, and unmixed during the breeding season with T. aliciæ.
Turdus swainsoni, Cabanis.
OLIVE-BACKED THRUSH; SWAINSON’S THRUSH.
Turdus swainsoni, Cab. Tschudi, Fauna Peruana, 1844-46, 188.—? Sclater & Salvin, Ibis, 1859, 6 (Guatemala).—Sclater, P. Z. S. 1858, 451 (Ecuador); 1859, 326.—Ib. Catal. 1861, 2, No. 11.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 216; Rev. Am. B., 1864, 19.—Gundlach, Cab. Jour. 1861, 324 (Cuba).—Ib. Repert. 1865, 229.—Pelzeln, Orn. Brazil. II. 1868, 92 (Marambitanas, Feb. and March).—Lawr. N. Y. Lyc. IX, 91 (Costa Rica).—Ridgway.—Maynard.—Samuels, 152.—Cooper, Birds Cal. 6.—Dall & Bannister. Turdus minor, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 809 (in part). Turdus olivaceus, Giraud, Birds L. Island, 1843-44, 92 (not of Linn.). (?) Turdus minimus, Lafresnaye, Rev. Zoöl. 1848, 5.—Sclater, P. Z. S. 1854, 111.—Bryant, Pr. Bost. Soc. VII, 1860, 226 (Bogota).—Lawrence, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. 1863. (Birds Panama, IV, No. 384.)
Sp. Char. Upper parts uniform olivaceous, with a decided shade of green. The fore part of breast, the throat and chin, pale brownish-yellow; rest of lower parts white; the sides washed with brownish-olive. Sides of the throat and fore part of the breast with sub-rounded spots of well-defined brown, darker than the back; the rest of the breast (except medially) with rather less distinct spots that are more olivaceous. Tibiæ yellowish-brown. Broad ring round the eye, loral region, and a general tinge on the side of the head, clear reddish buff. Length, 7.00; wing, 4.15; tail, 3.10; tarsus, 1.10.
Hab. Eastern North America; westward to Humboldt Mountain and Upper Columbia; perhaps occasionally straggling as far as California; north to Slave Lake and Fort Yukon; south to Ecuador and Brazil. Cuba, Gundlach; Costa Rica, Lawr.
Specimens examined from the northern regions (Great Slave Lake, Mackenzie River, and Yukon) to Guatemala; from Atlantic States to East Humboldt Mountains, Nevada, and from intervening localities. The extremes of variation are the brownish-olive of eastern and the clear dark greenish-olive of remote western specimens. There is no observable difference between a Guatemalan skin and one from Fort Bridger, Utah.
Habits. The Olive-backed Thrush, or “Swamp Robin,” has very nearly the same habitat during the breeding season as that of the kindred species with which it was so long confounded. Although Wilson seems to have found the nest and eggs among the high lands of Northern Georgia, it is yet a somewhat more northern species. It does not breed so far south as Massachusetts, or if so, the cases must be exceptional and very rare, nor even in Western Maine, where the “Ground Swamp Robin” (T. pallasi) is quite abundant. It only becomes common in the neighborhood of Calais. It is, however, most widely distributed over nearly the entire continent, breeding from latitude 44° to high Arctic regions. It winters in Guatemala and southward as far as Ecuador and Brazil.
In its habits this thrush is noticeably different from the T. pallasi, being much more arboreal, frequenting thick woods; rarely seen, except during its migrations, in open ground, and seeking its food more among the branches of the trees.
Mr. Ridgway found this species very abundant among the Wahsatch Mountains, where it was one of the most characteristic summer birds of that region. It was breeding plentifully in the cañons, where its song could be heard almost continually. It inhabited an intermediate position between T. auduboni and T. fuscescens, delighting most in the shrubbery along the streams of the cañons and passes, leaving to the T. auduboni the secluded ravines of the pine regions higher up, and to the T. fuscescens the willow thickets of the river valleys. He did not meet with it farther west than the East Humboldt Mountains. The song, in his opinion, resembles that of the Wood Thrush (T. mustelinus) in modulations; but the notes want the power, while they possess a finer and more silvery tone.
The song of this species has a certain resemblance to that of T. pallasi, being yet quite distinct, and the differences readily recognized by a familiar ear. It is more prolonged; the notes are more equal and rise with more regularity and more gradually, are richer, and each note is more complete in itself. Its song of lamentation when robbed of its young is full of indescribable pathos and beauty, haunting one who has once heard it long after.
When driven from the nest, the female always flies to a short distance and conceals herself; making no complaints, and offering no resistance.
These birds, in a single instance, have been known to reach Eastern Massachusetts early in April, in an unusually early season, but they generally pass north a few weeks later. They make no prolonged stay, and are with us rarely more than three or four days. Their return in the fall appears to be, at times, by a more inland route. They are then not so numerous near the coast, but occasionally are abundant.
Their nests in Nova Scotia, wherever observed, were among the thick woods, on horizontal branches of a forest-tree, usually about five feet from the ground. Those observed in the Arctic regions by Mr. Kennicott were frequently not more than two feet from the ground.
The nests average about four inches in diameter and two in height, the cavity being three inches wide by about one and a half deep. They are more elaborately and neatly constructed than those of any other of our thrushes, except perhaps of T. ustulatus. conspicuous among the materials are the Hypnum mosses, which by their dark fibrous masses give a very distinctive character to these nests, and distinguish them from all except those of the T. ustulatus, which they resemble. Besides these materials are found fine sedges, leaves, stems of equisetaceous plants, red glossy vegetable fibres, the flowering steins of the Cladonia mosses, lichens, fine strips of bark, etc.
The eggs, which are four or five in number, exhibit noticeable variations in size, shape, and shades of coloring, bearing some resemblance to those of T. ustulatus and to the eggs asserted to be those of T. nanus, but are sufficiently distinct, and are still more so from those of T. aliciæ. They range in length from .83 to .94, with a mean of .88, their mean breadth is .66, the maximum .69, and the minimum .63. Their ground color is usually bluish-green, sometimes light blue with hardly a tinge of green, and the spots are of a yellowish-brown, or russet-brown, or a mixture of both colors, more or less confluent, with marked variations in this respect.
Turdus swainsoni, var. ustulatus, Nuttall.
OREGON THRUSH.
Turdus ustulatus, Nuttall, Man. I, 1840, 400 (Columbia River).—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 215, pl. lxxxi, fig. 1.—Ib. Rev. Am. B. 1864, 18.—Cooper & Suckley, P. R. Rep. XII, II, 1860, 171.—Ridgway, Pr. A. N. S. Philad. 1869, 127.—Dall & Bannister, Tr. Chic. Acad.—Cooper, Birds Cal., 5.
Sp. Char. General appearance of fuscescens, but with pattern of swainsoni; the buff orbital ring as conspicuous as in latter. The olive above is more brown than in this, and less yellowish than in fuscescens, becoming decidedly more rufescent on wings and less observably so on tail. Pectoral aspect different from fuscescens, the spots narrower and cuneate, sharply defined, and arranged in longitudinal series; in color they are a little darker than the crown. Length, 7.50; wing, 3.75; tail, 3.00; tarsus, 1.12.
Hab. Pacific Province of United States. Tres Marias Isl., Guatemala (winter), Mus. S. I.
This well-marked race is to be compared with swainsoni, not with fuscescens, as has generally been done; the latter, except in shade of colors, it scarcely resembles at all; still greater evidence that such is its affinity is that the T. ustulatus builds its nest on a tree, and lays a spotted egg, like swainsoni, while fuscescens nests on or near the ground, perhaps never in a tree, and lays a plain blue egg. The song of the present bird is also scarcely distinguishable from that of swainsoni. Upon the whole, we see no reason why this should not be considered as a Pacific Province form of the Turdus swainsoni; at least it becomes necessary to do so, after referring to T. pallasi as geographical races, the T. auduboni and T. nanus.
Habits. So far as we are aware, this thrush has a very limited distribution, being mainly restricted to the Pacific coast region from California to Alaska in the breeding season, though migrating southward in winter to Guatemala. Dr. Kennerly found it in great abundance breeding at Chiloweyuck Depot, July 3, 1859. Dr. Cooper also found it one of the most abundant of the summer residents in Washington Territory, arriving there in May and remaining until the beginning of September. Three specimens of this thrush were obtained at Sitka, by Mr. Bischoff. Mr. Ridgway met with only a single specimen east of the Sierra Nevada, though on that range he found it an abundant summer bird.
In its general appearance it has a marked resemblance to Wilson’s Thrush (T. fuscescens), but its habits and notes, as well as its nest and eggs, clearly point its nearer affinity to Swainson’s Thrush (T. swainsoni), its song being scarcely different from that of the latter species. Like this species, it frequents the thickets or brushwood along the mountain streams, and, except just after its arrival, it is not at all shy. In crossing the Sierra Nevada in July, 1867, Mr. Ridgway first met with this species. He describes it as an exquisite songster. At one of the camps, at an altitude of about 5,000 feet, they were found unusually plentiful. He speaks of their song as consisting of “ethereal warblings,—outbursts of wild melody.” “Although its carols were heard everywhere in the depth of the ravine, scarcely one of the little musicians could be seen.” “The song of this thrush,” he adds, “though possessing all the wild, solemn melody of that of the Wood Thrush (T. mustelinus) is weaker, but of a much finer or more silvery tone, and more methodical delivery. It is much like that of the T. swainsoni, but in the qualities mentioned is even superior.”
Dr. Cooper found its nests with eggs about the middle of June. These were most usually built on a small horizontal branch, and were very strongly constructed of twigs, grasses, roots, and leaves, usually covered on the outside entirely with the bright green Hypnum mosses peculiar to that region, which in the damp climate near the coast continue to grow in that position, and form large masses. The number of eggs is usually five.
Dr. Cooper states that these thrushes sing most in the early morning and in the evening, when numbers may be heard answering one another on all sides. They do not affect the darkest thickets so much as the Hermit Thrush, but are often seen feeding in the gardens in the open sunshine.
Dr. Suckley, who found them quite abundant in the neighborhood of Fort Steilacoom, on the edge of the forest, and in swampy land, describes the song as a low, soft, sad, and lively whistle, confined to one note, and repeated at regular intervals. Mr. Nuttall, the first to describe this form, speaks of it as shy and retiring, and as in the habit of gathering insects from the ground. His ear, so quick to appreciate the characteristics of the songs of birds, which showed a close resemblance between the notes of this bird and that of Wilson’s Thrush (T. fuscescens), enabled him to detect very distinct and easily recognizable differences. It is much more interrupted and is not so prolonged. The warble of this bird he describes as resembling wit-wit t´villia, and wit-wit, t´villia-t´villia. His call when surprised was wit-wit.
All the nests of this species that have fallen under my observation are large, compact, strongly constructed, and neat. They measure about 5 inches in their external diameter, with a depth externally of 3; the cavity is comparatively shallow, being rarely 2 inches in depth. The external portions are constructed almost entirely of Hypnum mosses, matted together and sparingly interwoven with dry leaves and fine fibrous roots, and are lined with finer materials of the same kind. These nests most nearly resemble in their material and in their position those of Swainson’s Thrush.
Mr. Hepburn found these birds very abundant about Victoria. It does not usually breed there before the last of May, though in one exceptional instance he found a nest with young birds on the 24th of that month.
The eggs vary in size and shape, ranging from .77 to .94 in length, and from .65 to .69 in breadth. They also vary in their ground color and in the tints of the spots and markings. The ground color is light green or light blue, and the markings are variously yellowish-brown and lilac, or dark brown and slate.
Mr. Grayson found this thrush very abundant in the month of January, in the thickest of the woods, in the islands of the Three Marias, on the Pacific coast of Mexico. They were very timid and shy, more so than any bird that he saw on those islands. It frequently uttered a low plaintive whistle, and seemed solitary in its habits.
Turdus pallasi, Cabanis.
RUFOUS-TAILED THRUSH; HERMIT THRUSH.
Turdus pallasii, Cabanis, Wiegmann’s Archiv, 1847 (I), 205.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 212.—Ib. Rev. Am. B. 1864, 14.—Sclater, P. Z. S. 1859, 325 ??.—Ib. Catal. 1861, 2, No. 7.—Ridgway.—Maynard.—Samuels, 148. Turdus solitarius, Wilson, Amer. Orn. V, 1812, 95 (not of Linnæus).—Sclater, P. Z. S. 1857, 212. Turdus minor, Bon. Obs. Wilson, 1825, No. 72. Turdus guttatus, Cabanis, Tschudi, Fauna Peruana, 1844, 187 (not Muscicapa guttata of Pallas).
Additional figures: Aud. Birds Am. III, pl. cxlvi.—Ib. Orn. Biog. I, pl. lviii.
Sp. Char. Tail slightly emarginate. Above light olive-brown, with a scarcely perceptible shade of reddish, passing, however, into decided rufous on the rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail, and to a less degree on the outer surface of the wings. Beneath white, with a scarcely appreciable shade of pale buff across the fore part of the breast, and sometimes on the throat; the sides of the throat and the fore part of the breast with rather sharply defined subtriangular spots of dark olive-brown; the sides of the breast with paler and less distinct spots of the same. Sides of the body under the wings of a paler shade than the back. A whitish ring round the eye; ear-coverts very obscurely streaked with paler. Length, 7.50 inches; wing, 3.84; tail, 3.25; tarsus, 1.16; No. 2,092.
Hab. Eastern North America. Mexico? Not found in Cuba, fide Gundlach.
In spring the olive above is very much that of eastern specimens of swainsoni; in winter specimens it is much browner, and almost as much so as in fuscescens. Young birds have the feathers of the head, back, and wing coverts streaked centrally with drop-shaped spots of rusty yellowish.
Habits. Until quite recently the “Ground Swamp Robin,” or Hermit Thrush, has not been distinguished from the closely allied species T. swainsoni, and all accounts of writers have blended both in singular confusion. My colleague, Professor Baird, in the summer of 1844, was the first to suggest the distinctness of the two species. By the common people of Maine and the British Provinces this difference has long been generally recognized, this species being known as the “Ground Swamp Robin,” and the other as the “Swamp Robin.”
The present species is found throughout Eastern North America to the Mississippi, and breeds from Massachusetts to high arctic regions. It is only occasionally found breeding so far south as Massachusetts; through which State it passes in its spring migrations, sometimes as early as the 10th of April; usually reaching Calais, Maine, by the 15th of the same month.