676 



BICKNELL'S THRUSH. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Occurs during the breeding season in Northern North America west of the Roclcy Mountains from Lab- 

 rador westward to Southern Alaska. Winters south of the United States. Rare on the Bahamas during 

 migration. 



DIMENSIONS. 

 Length, from 7.30 to 7.60: stretch, 12.30 to 12.(50: 

 wing, 4.00 to 4.15 ; tail, 3.00 to 3.1;") ; bill, .53 to .55 ; tarsus, 

 1.18 to 1.20. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 

 Nests, usually placed in trees but occasionally on the 

 ground, composed of grass, leaves, strips of bark, and occa- 

 sionally of moss, with sometimes a mud base. EfJQS, four in 

 number, oval in form, greenish blue in color, spotted and 

 blotched with reddish and yellowish brown. Dimensions> 

 from .88 by .02 to .92 by .64. 

 Fig. 1 14. Head of adult Gray-cheeked 

 Thrush. HABITS. 



The Gr.iy-clieeked Thrushes are a late spring and 

 early auturaiial migrant through the middle and 

 New England States, thus I found them common on May ISth, 1876, at Williamsport, 

 Pennsylvania, the Olive-backs having migrated in great numbers during the week pre- 

 vious. While with us this bird is shy and retiring in habit and is silent excepting for the 

 low warbling note of alarm. On its breeding ground in Alaska, however, it is said to 

 utter a low sweet song. I shot a single specimen out of a small flock of presumably the 

 same species, on one of the smaller of tlie Grassy Keys, Baliamas, on May 6th, 1884, just 

 at night fixll. I visited the key the next morning by daybreak but all of the birds had 

 departed. 



VV fc. 



Turdus aliciae bicknelli. 



Bickneli's Thrush 

 DESCRIPTION. 



Sub Sp. Ch. Differs from typical specimens of T. aliciae only in being smaller. Length, from 6.25 to 

 7.25 ; wing, 3.40 to 3.80; tail, 5.60 to 2.70; bill, .,50 to .52 ; tarsus, 1.10 to 1.15. 



OBSERVATIONS. 

 The nests do not differ from those of the Olive-back but the eggs are greener and more finely spotted. 

 This sub species occurs in summer on the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Vermont and on the Cats- 

 kills, New York, also on some small islands off the south-western end of Nova Scotia, also on the summit of 

 Mount Graylock, Western Massachusetts. 



HABITS. 



Bickneli's Thrush is a regular migrant through Massachusetts in spring and autumn 

 coming about the time in Aviiich the t3'pical Gray-cheeks nuike their appearance. Mr. 

 Brewster says that the song is like that of the Wilson's Thrusli and that scmie of its call 

 notes resemble those of the Wilson's, and that others call those of the Olive-back, while 

 it emits a low chuck nnich like tliat of the Hermit. 



