G82 



Kor.iN. 



GENUS. MERULA. LARGE THRUSHES. 



Gen. Ch. JMiivginal iiiilentfitiiins of sternum deeper than in the prc^'ciling geiiu.s. Size. lary;o. Tail, 

 not as lonsf as the wing. Sexes not always similar. 



Fig. 117. 

 Robin. 



Head of adult male 



MERULA MIGRATORIA 

 Robin 



Turdus migratorious Linn., Syst. Nat. 12 ed.. 17(iii, -'i2. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Sp. Oh. Form, robust. Size, large. Wings, rather long and pointed. Tail, slightly rounded. Mar- 

 ginal indentations, equal in depth to the width of the sternum. Tongue, not very Avide, slightly cleft at the 



extremity, and delicately fringed with cilia for about one-half 

 of the terminal length. Color. Adult male in spring. Back, 

 rump, outer edges of primaries, secondaries and tertiaries, ashy 

 gi-ay : other portions of wings above, dark brown Top and 

 sides of head, upper portions of throat and tail, black ; the lat- 

 ter, streaked with white. Interscapular region, ashy, spotted 

 with black. Sjiots above and below the eye and just in front 

 of the up]ier portion of it. chin, throat, abdomen and undei- tail 

 covert':, pure white, the latter streaked with black. Under parts 

 of wings and tail, glaucous, with the primaries tinged with pale 

 buff. Remainder of lower portion, including under wing cov- 

 erts, rich golden brown. Bill, yellow. Adult female in spring. 

 Similar to the alifive but generally paler, which is especially 

 noticeable in the colors below which are inclineil to be yellowish 

 rufous. Adult in winter. The plumage differ.s from that in 

 spring in having the feathers of the under portion of the body, 

 as well as the seeondiiries and tertiaries, tipped with white. 

 The upper surface is tinged with brown. This is especially noticeable in Robins taken in Southern Florida 

 during January. Young. Similar to the winter male, but has two white bars on the wings composed of 

 drop-shaped marks on the tips of the two rows of wing coverts. During winter, birds in this stage are 

 strongly tinged with brown, both on the under and upper surfaces of the body. The bill is also browner. 

 Nestlings. Pale yellow beneath, barred and spotted throughout with black. The feathers of the upper 

 surface are darker and tipped with drop-shaped marks of white. The upper row of lesser wing coverts is 

 streaked with brownish yellow. Throat and chin, pure white, with a brown ma.xillary line. Iris and feet, 



brown in all stages. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



The above description will serve to distinguish this species from all others. As will be seen by dimen- 

 sions given below, specimens taken in Southern Florida, average a very little smaller in size, than those 

 from New England, but the tail and bill are longer in proportion to the size of the bird. The difference is 

 too slight, however, to warrant sub-specific separation. It is a widely distributed bird, being found through- 

 out the entire extent of Eastern North America, west to the Rocky Mountains. 



DIMENSIONS. 

 Length, from 9.15 to 10.75 ; stretch, 14,80 to 16.50 ; wing, 4.10 to 5.40 ; tail, 4.10 to 4.20 : bill, .50 to 

 1.00 ; tarsus, 1 .00 to 1.30. From Florida : length, 9.69 ; wing, 4.86 ; tail ; 3.90 ; bill, .71 ; tarsus. 1.06. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 

 Nests, generally placed in trees or bushes, composed of mud mixed with grass, and the compound when 

 dried forms a kind of cement. They are almost always smoothly lined with fine, dead grasses, and are placed 



