440 NOTES ON THE 



Dr. Hvoslef, Mr. Washburn, and Mr. Lewis, each cor ■ 

 roborate my former estimate of its distribution as being less 

 frequently seen in the northern portions of the State, which is 

 further negatively endorsed by its notable absence from Mr. 

 Grant's northeastern list. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 



Third quill longest; second and fourth but little shorter, and 

 much longer than the fifth, (0.35). Upper parts uniform 

 olivaceous with a decided shade of green. Fore parts of 

 breast, throat and chin, pale brownish yellow; rest of lower 

 parts white; sides washed with brownish olive. Sides of 

 throat and fore part of breast with subrounded spots of well 

 defined brown, darker than the back; rest of breast, except 

 medially, with rather less distinct spots that are more oliva- 

 cious. Tibiae yellowish brown; broad ring around 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. 



Habitat, eastern North America, westward to Columbia. 



TURDl S AONALASCHKJ^. PALLASII (Cabanis). (759b.) 

 HERMIT THRUSH. 



The plumage of the Hermit Thrush in spring has long con- 

 founded it with Swainson's, or perhaps better. Swainson's with 

 the Hermit, but their feeding habits, as well as the song, 

 separate them widely as species. While the former is mostly 

 confined to the branches of the trees for its food, the latter 

 feeds almost exclusively on the ground. The notes of the 

 former are more prolonged, regular, and ascend more gradu- 

 ally, while the latter beginning low, rises rapidly into its 

 highest tinkling melodies, and terminates the strain abruptly. 

 A number of the Hermits may often be found within a short 

 distance of each other, but still not together when feeding. 

 Silently they search amongst the half-decayed leaves in the 

 thickets bordering swampy, partially overflowed tracts, not 

 infrequently venturing into the open fields where larvae and 

 insects abound, with little of the shyness of the Olive-backed 

 Thrush. 



My earliest personal observation of the time of its arrival in 

 the vicinity of where I reside was April 5, 1875. This is a 

 little earlier than any which has been reported to me. Other 

 observers corroborate my own records in making the general 

 date from the 15th to the 20th of April. It seldom sings im- 

 mediately after its arrival, but in due time those which remain 



