80 LAXD-BIRDS AND OAME-BIRDS 



or five, and like those of the Robin, but smaller, measuring 

 1-10 — 1'00X'70 of an inch. Those of the first set are usually- 

 laid near Boston in the last week of Maj' — those of the second, 

 if any, in the early part of Jal3\ 



(c). The Wood Thrushes probably represent the highest 

 type among birds ; excelling all others, except their immediate 

 relatives, in details of structure, in the quiet beauty of their 

 coloration, and in the refinement of their habits ; and they are 

 certainly to be ranked among the finest singers of the world. 



Though possessed of comparatively little power of flight, 

 yet the Wood Thrushes, like most other birds, migrate very 

 far (more than a thousand miles), — about the tenth of May 

 reaching Massachusetts, to the northward of which, in New 

 England, they rarely go. But the}' are common in southern 

 New England from the time of their arrival until that of their 

 departure in September or October ; during the summer-months 

 inhabiting groves and woods of various kinds, oftenest, per- 

 haps, those which are swampy or of low growth. In such 

 places they build their nest and rear their j'oung, and there 

 obtain the necessary suppl}'^ of insect-food, either from the 

 ground, over which they can run with some rapidity, or from 

 the bushes and trees, among which they move with such leisure 

 and dignified grace as would become a prince. The most con- 

 spicuous feature in the Natural Histor}^ of these birds is the 

 apparent modest}^ and the actual love of privacj' or solitude, 

 which the}' generally, though not invariably possess. These 

 lend a charm to the study of their habits and their music, but 

 they also cause difficult}' in acquiring an intimacy with them, — 

 a difficulty, however, which can be overcome. Though the 

 Wood Thrushes are so fond of individuality and retirement, 

 that they are never properly gregarious, and that they prefer 

 retreats in woodland, where they are unlikely to be disturbed, 

 to all other suitable haunts, yet they often build their nests in 

 quite conspicuous places, and frequent the immediate neigh- 

 borhood of man. Nor are they then more shy than under 

 other circumstances, — in fact, the female is generally prompted 

 by instinctive motherliness to sit as bravely on her nest, when 



