PASSERES TURDIDAE TURDUS PALLASI VAR. AUDUBONI. 145 



in the pure, rarefied atmosphere of these lofty regions, where the solitude is 

 unbroken save by the voices of the birds, may be better imagined than 

 described. Though perhaps lacking somewhat of the power possessed by 

 the song of the Wood Thrush of our eastern woods, yet, in sweetness and 

 modulation of tone, it is certainly worthy of comparison with that renowned 



songste-r. 



In the same locality mentioned above, I found a single nest, the only 

 one I have ever seen. It was quite bulky, composed almost wholly of 

 strips of bark and coarse grasses, completely covered on the outer surface 

 with mosses. This was placed in the open cavity of a broken pine-stub, 

 about three feet from the ground. It contained a single light-blue egg ; 

 The female was on the nest at the time of its discovery, and when disturbed 

 glided off among the bushes, uttering a few complaining notes. 



A second nest, found by Mr. Merriam in Montana, differs little in construc- 

 tion from the one above, and, like it, was placed in a pine-tree, " about eight 

 feet from .the ground ;" the two examples thus differing from the position 

 selected by the Hermit Thrush of the East, which is always, so far as known, 

 upon the ground. In 1874, this species was found to be quite common in the 

 mountains of Arizona as far south as Mount Graham, where the young, 

 scarcely fledged, were noticed with the old birds still attending them during 

 the first few days of August. Returning to this point, the middle of Sep- 

 tember, the species was found, apparently still in pairs, but, during the last 

 few days of the month, the woods were fairly filled with these thrushes, 

 which had evidently migrated from farther north, and were still pursuing 

 their southward course. The timid disposition and retiring habits of this 

 thrush were always remarked. 



As will be seen below, in the table of measurements, there is a very 

 considerable discrepancy in size between the birds first taken at Mount 

 Graham, and which are natives of this southern region, and those coming 

 later, which had evidently been reared much farther to the north. 

 10 z 



