EASTERN HERMIT THRUSH 155 



meat were dipped in water. On June 28 between 8 a. m. and 7 p. m. 

 it was fed eight times and swallowed 27 bits of meat. After July 4 

 he weighed the bird's food as well as the bird itself. The bird's aver- 

 age weight during five days was 27.7 grams and the average weight of 

 the meat eaten daily was 13.56 grams, indicating that it ate about 50 

 percent of its weight in meat. He experimented with earthworms 

 and found that the thrush ate 19 worms between 8:30 a. m. and 1 p. m. 

 He noted that worms from a dung heap were frequently rejected, 

 whereas worms taken from cool black garden mold were eaten with a 

 relish. The thrush ate 9 grams of worms an horn-, so at this rate it 

 would not take more than a few hours for it to eat its own weight in 

 worms. Experiments were made to determine the time required 

 for the food to pass through the alimentary tract by the use of blue- 

 berries, which dyed the bird's excretions. Only half an hour was 

 required, which explains the enormous capacity the birds have for 

 food. 



Behavior. — H. R. Ivor (1941 and 1943) has observed the peculiar 

 behavior of "anting" in many species of birds, including the hermit 

 thrush. In "anting" the birds seize the ants and place them in their 

 feathers, usually under the primaries of the wings. They may also 

 crush the ants with their bills and rub the juices on the feathers, or 

 the birds may dust themselves in anthills. Various theories have 

 been advanced to explain this behavior: The ants are placed among 

 the feathers to drive out ectoparasites; the bird anoints its feathers 

 with the formic-acid secretions of the ant to repel ectoparasites; the 

 bird eats the ants for the formic acid, which may be beneficial as a 

 medication to increase muscular energy or to expel endoparasites ; 

 the bird places the ants in the feathers to have a reserve food supply 

 during migration. These and other suggestions have been made. 

 Further observations and study of this behavior will be required to 

 enable us to interpret the true biological significance of "anting." 



Voice. — As a boy living in central Illinois I knew the hermit merely 

 as the thrush with the reddish-brown tail, and in those days I never 

 heard its exquisite song as it passed through that part of the State 

 on its way to and from the nesting grounds. It uttered nothing more 

 than a protesting quoit or chuck when we intruded upon its transitory 

 haunts in the few scattered wooded areas of that prairie section. It 

 was not until I came to Maine to live in the midst of its breeding 

 area that I fully appreciated this aristocrat of the bird world. In 

 Maine this gifted songster is at its best soon after its arrival during 

 the last week of April. At this season any visit during the early 

 morning or evening hours to a particular evergreen forest traversed 

 by a cool meandering trout stream is certain to be rewarded by the 

 superb performances of this prima-donna songster. Indeed, the 



