26 LAND-BIRDS. 



and structure. It is built, never very far from the ground, in 

 a bush or tree, in the woods (especially those of low growth), 

 and often in a swampy place. The eggs of each set are four 

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

 1.1 0-1.0 Ox. 70 of an inch. Near Boston those of the first 

 set are usually laid in the last week of May; those of the 

 second, if any, in the early part of July. 



c. The Wood Thrushes probably represent the highest 

 type among birds ; excelling all others, except their imme- 

 diate 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,f 

 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 they are common in southern 

 New Enoland 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, perhaps, those which are swampy or of low growth. 

 In such places they build their nests and rear their young, 

 and there get the necessary supply 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 becomes royalty. The most con- 

 spicuous feature in the natural history of these birds is the 

 apparent modesty and the actual love of privacy or solitude, 

 which they generally, though not invariably, possess. These 

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

 they also cause difficulty in acquiring an intimacy with them, 

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

 Wood Thrushes are so fond of individuality and retirement 



* Sets of more than four eggs are of flight are probably not really infe- 



exceptional and very rare. — W. B. rior to those of any of the other mem- 



t The Wood Thrush is certainly a bers of its family. — W. B. 

 bird of sedentary habits, but its powers 



