WOOD THRUSH 117 



with a high note, then a low one, then a trill, often highest of all, but 

 the different phrases varying in pitch. It is calm, unhurried, peaceful, 

 and unequaled in both power and beauty by any other woodland 

 songster of New England." 



Saunders (1921a) claims that individual male wood thrushes have 

 characteristic songs by which they can be identified. John Burroughs 

 (1880) also makes this statement. Saunders says that a count of 

 pairs merely by singing males is not reliable, but such a count would 

 be possible if individual songs were studied. 



Charles W. Townsend (1924) and Francis H. Allen, quoted by him, 

 state that they heard catbirds mimic the song of the wood thrush. 

 The white-eyed vireo, according to Brand, is an imitator of this bird, 

 and Forbush (1929) reports that it has been known to imitate the 

 wood thrush. 



About the middle of October 1927, at 2 a. m. on a moonlight night, 

 a large flock of birds alighted in tops of street basswoods in resi- 

 dential Washington, D. C. (Hazen, 1928). Immediately at least 10 

 wood thrushes burst into full song. They sang continuously for 20 

 minutes, then one lone bird sang until the flock disappeared at 

 2:45 a. m. The thrushes were accompanied by small tree-top birds, 

 either vireos or kinglets. 



The latest songs of the wood thrush in the autumn were recorded 

 on July 28 and August 10 at Ithaca, N. Y. Brackbill (1943) records 

 August 2 in Baltimore, Md. Saunders (MS.) gives July 29 as his 

 average fall song date. His latest dates are August 8, 1928, and 

 September 7, 1941. As a rule, then, the song period closes about the 

 end of July, and little is seen or heard from the birds from then on. 

 During the postnuptial molt birds were located by listening for the 

 calls of excitement, but no songs were heard. 



Field marks. — The members of the genus Hylocichla have more or 

 less spotting on the underparts and the young are spotted above and 

 below in the juvenal plumage. The distinguishing characteristics 

 that separate this species, mustelina, from the others of the genus are 

 its larger size (over 8 inches in length) and greater sturdiness. Its 

 upperparts are bright cinnamon-brown, being brightest on the head 

 and changing gradually to olive on the upper tail coverts and tail. 

 (The hermit thrush has the cinnamon-brown most pronounced on the 

 tail.) The underparts are white, thickly marked with large rounded 

 dark brown spots, except on the throat and middle of the belly. This 

 species is more strongly marked than others of the genus; the spots 

 are larger, more distinct, more numerous, and more generally dis- 

 persed. The spots extend well down on the flanks, more so than on 

 any of the other thrushes. In distinguishing this bird from confusing 

 species other than thrushes, we may eliminate the brown thrasher by 



