624 GOLDEN-CKOWNED THRUSH. 



iaries, pale green. Iris, brown. Upper mandible, brown : lower, paler. Feet, pale brown. Young, siiiiil:ir 

 to the adult, but with a dull, reddish tinge over the back. The central stripe 'if tlie head i.s also nbscured 

 with dusky. There is a foint, greenish suffusion over the white of the under parts. The wing coverts are 

 sometimes tipped with pale yellow, forming bars. The feet and bill are darker. Sexes alike in all stages uf 

 plumage. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



This little species will be easily distinguished from all others by the above description. Individuals 

 vary much in the number and intensity of color of the spots beneath. A specimen taken at Miami, besides 

 being smaller in size, has the spots of the breast much broader than usual. The back is also more dusky- 

 This species is found during the breeding season throughout Eastern United States, north to Hudson's Bay. 

 They winter in the Southern States, Bahamas, West Indies and Central America. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average measurements of seventeen specimens. Length, fi.OO : stretch, 1).. '17 ; wing, o.Ol ; tail, '-'.I-'l' ; 

 bill, .49 ; tarsus, .SI Longest specimen, C'lO ; greatest stretch of wings, 10 40: giTutest length of wing. 

 3.35 : of tail, 3.10; of bill, .n.5 ; of tarsus, .!)0. Shortest specimen, ."i.40 ; smallest stretch of wings, '.)A'i : 

 smallest length of wing, 2.25 ; of tail, 2.00; of bill, .45; of tarsus, .70. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 

 Nests, composed outwardly of dried leaves and grasses, compactly interwoven, and lined with finer 

 grasses. This material is usually arranged so as to form a hollow cylinder, with a hole for entrance at the 

 side. Dimensions. External diameter, 5 inches ; internal, 3 inches. Eggs, four or five in number, pui-c 

 white, spotted and blotched throughout, but generally more thickly on the largei- eml, with pale brown, lilac 

 and umber. Form, rather round. Dimensions, from .75 by .50 to .80 by .64. 



HABITS. 



Upon visiting Florida for the first time, one is surprised to hear the term "hammock'" 

 applied to certain species of woodland, which api)ea-r Hat, and indeed, where in many 

 cases the ground is somewhat lower than the surrounding surface. This, to a noi-thenier,. 

 to whom a hammock ineans a small hill, seems a misnomer. After a time, howevei', the 

 traveller becomes accustomed to it, and, if he is ornithologically inclined, will learn to 

 look upon the mass of vegetation which it repR^sents with great interest, for in lliem he 

 will find many valuable specimens. 



These hammocks are usually found along the streams or other bodies of water ; ;in(t 

 as the trees, of which they are composed, grow thickl}- even on the edge, they a])pear 

 like islands rising abruptly from the surrounding scrub, jjiuy woods or savainias. They 

 vary in size from a few square rods to miles in extent. Upon entering them, one gener- 

 ally passes first through a thicket of tangled briers and shrubs, which commonly grow 

 among the trees on the margins of all hannnocks. Once through this and the collector 

 finds himself in a dense wood, nearly free from underbrush. He will pause here, if un- 

 accustomed to such scenes, for everything appears somewhat strange. Beside him stands 

 a huge live oak with its immense tvuuk thickly covered with parasitical ferns a,nd orchids, 

 of a delicate green, while upon the branches may be seen large air plants, the drooping 

 leaves of which are surrounded by long streamers of Spanish moss tii.it i)artly concea,^ 



