Wood Thrush. ' 21^ 



la this section these birds do not fare so unfortunately 

 at the hands of their enemies. During the last week of 

 June, 1896, while enjoying an outing along the Illinois 

 Eiver, my attention was attracted to the numbers of young 

 wood thrushes which flitted among the lower branches of 

 the trees as we rambled along the bank, and their robin- 

 like calls of alarm were regular accompaniments of our 

 progress. The young of both the wood thrush and robin 

 have nearly similar calls, and do not differ much in their 

 nest plumage. Keeping more out of sight, the older 

 birds uttered their incomparable warbles, apparently 

 rejoicing in the fact that their nestlings had escaped the 

 dangers incident to rearing a family in wildwood sur- 

 roundings. I have found many nests in this locality con- 

 taining young partially fledged, and from the abundance 

 of the birds in suitable localities, I am of the opinion that 

 most of the nests hereabout are successful in their issue. 

 It is probable that two broods are reared by most pairs, 

 as the nesting season is extended until the last of June, 

 from which time the fascinating warbles are heard no 

 more. 



The chief obstacle to the increase of the wood thrush 

 in this region is the regular imposition of the cowbird in 

 placing its eggs in the nest of the woodland songster. 

 The first nest of the wood thrush 1 ever found contained 

 four eggs of the owner and two of the parasite; and it 

 seemed likely that the two strangers would be able to 

 absorb the most of the care and attention of the parents 

 to the neglect and injury of the true offspring. The 

 majority of nests of the wood thrush I have examined 

 contained one or more eggs of the cowbird, and the 

 careful mothers were brooding them with their own as 

 faithfully as the parasite could desire. Are the birds 

 easily deluded, or do they resign themselves to become 

 foster-parents of the young cowbirds, and thus quietly 

 accept the conditions as apparently inevitable? 



Like the robins and other birds generally, the wood 

 thrushes become more shy and retiring as fall approaches. 

 They can be observed early m the morning and before 

 dusk in the evening feeding on the wild grapes and ber- 

 ries so abundant in the autumn in the woods. At this 



