722 MICIirriAN BIRD LIFE. 



In spite of all that has been said and written about the song of the Her- 

 mit Thrush the writer fails to discover any superiority over that regularly 

 given by the Wood Thrush. We have heard the Hermit Thrush hundreds 

 of times and. in scores of places, and, making due allowance for time 

 and place, the song in our opinion is neither clearer, purer, sweeter, more 

 powerful or longer continued than that of the Wood Thrush. Individuals 

 of either species sometimes excel the average musician of the other species, 

 but we doubt that as a whole one can be said to be superior to the other. 



As already stated the nest is almost always placed on the ground and 

 is not ordinarily distinguishable from that of the Veejy or Wilson's Thrush. 

 It is built largely of leaves, but grasses, weed-stems, bark 

 and roots are also used freely and occasionally pine needles ^^j— -. 

 and other evergreen leaves are added. The eggs are three ^ ^=;;z::^ 

 to five, greenish-blue, unspotted, and average .88 by .66 

 inches. 



The food does not differ particularly from that of its neai- 

 relatives, but consists very largely of insects, together with Fig. i52. Hermit 

 some spiders and myriapods, and with a considerable amount BiuebircL^b)"^ 

 of small-fruits in their season. Prof. Forbes found that 87 

 percent of its food in Illinois, as ascertained by the dissection of 16 speci- 

 mens taken in April and May, consisted of insects, and the only unfortunate 

 feature of its f(jod was that it included 12 percent of ground beetles 

 (Carabidai). 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Adult: Entire upper surface (except tail) uniform olive-brown; tail and upper coverts 

 l)ri,i;;hter reddish-brown (rvifous), in strong contrast; sides of throat and entire breast 

 spotted with brown or lilack, tlie .spots smallest and sharpest on the sides of the throat, 

 growing larger, rounder and paler on the lower breast; tluoat and middle of belly white; 

 sides olive, luispotted. Sexes alike in color and size. 



Length, 6.50 to 7.50 inches; wing 3.40 to 3.90; tail 2.50 to 3. 



324. Robin. Planesticus migratorius migratorius {Linn.). (761) 



Synonyms: Common Rol)in, Rol)in Redbreast, Red-l)reast, Migratory Thrush, Canada 

 Robin, Northern R()l)in, American Hobiii. -'i"urdusJmigralori>is, Limi., 17()(), anil most 

 American writers until about bSSO. Meruia migratoria, Sw. iV' Ricli., \K\\. Kidgw., ISSO, 

 A. (). U. Check-list, ISSd, and most subsecpient autiiors.- I'iauesticus migratorius, Gund- 

 lach, 1X7 L 



Above gray; dai'ker, often nearly black, on the head; luulei' jiarts mainly 

 i-eddish-brown except the throat, which is white, streaked with black, 

 and the bell}', which is white and unspotted; outer tail-feathers white- 

 tipped. 



The Jlobin, being our most familiar bird, should be careftdly studied 

 by the beginner. It serves as a convenient standard of size for com- 

 l)ai'ison with other species, and measures from nine to ten inches from tip 

 of l)ill to tip of tail, being thus much larger than it looks. 



Distril)ution. — Eastern United States to the Rocky Mountains, in- 

 cluding eastern Mexico and Alaska. Breeds from Virginia and Kansas 

 northward to the Arctic coast; winters from southern Canada and the 

 northern states (irregularly) southward. 



Probably our most abundant, best known and generally best loved 

 native bird. It stays with us the larger part of the year, being common 

 during summer throughout the entire state and some individuals commonly 



