BICKNELL’S THRUsS#.~— 
foundland*; it winters in northern South America. It was 
named for Miss Alice Kennicott of Illinois. 
Bicknell’s Bicknell’s Thrushf is very similar to the 
Thrush ~—_—_—_— preceding of which it is a subspecies, the 
Hylocichlaalicie ,. § : 
bicknelli difference is rather one of size more than 
L. 7.00 inches anythingelse. It isa mountain species with 
May 25th a song remarkably like that of the Veery 
especially in its tonal quality. ‘The colors are practically 
- the same as those of the Gray-cheeked Thrush, but the 
upper parts, especially the tail, are a trifle darker and 
browner; indeed it may be called the darkest of all the 
Thrushes, although I should call that difference very tri- 
fling. But the differences between the Thrushes when 
we compare their songs are absolute and invariable. The 
nest of Bicknell’s Thrush is built in a stunted tree or low 
bush, generally in the recesses of the tangled growth of 
dwarf spruces or firs on the shoulder or crest of some 
mountain of the northeastern States, at an altitude of not 
less than 2500 feet. Its structure is similar to that of the 
Gray-cheeked Thrush, the egg, perhaps, is a greener blue 
more finely speckled than that of the Olive-backed Thrush. 
The song of this Thrush is interesting, but is not com- 
parable with that of the Hermit or the Olive-back. Its 
close resemblance to the song of the Veery inclines one to 
question whether the two species may not be more nearly 
related than the ornithologist has determined; but that the 
music of a given species should be accounted a diagnostic 
point in matters of relationship with other species probably 
would draw onlya smile from the skeptical ornithologistwho 
prefers scientifically to depend upon bones and feathers.t 
But compare the records of the songs of the Veery on 
*Vide Report on Natural History Collections made in. Alaska. 
Edw. W. Nelson. 
t Named for Eugene P. Bicknell, its discoverer. 
t That, however, leaves two unaccountably similar birdsongs in 
the lurch the origin of which the scientist has been at no pains to 
discover. Now, it seems to mea perfectly logical conclusion that 
strikingly similar effects are deducible from a common cause, and 
one is justified in concluding that the common ancestry of Bick- 
nell’s Thrush and the Veery are identical on the basic idea that 
differences in dimensions and color are due more to environment 
than to inheritance. 
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