378 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



bill, rictus bristled, and nostrils not concealed. The tarsus is al- 

 ways "booted," i. e., the scutella fused together. They are all 

 songsters of great sweetness and power, and are placed by most 

 ornithologists as the highest type of bird in structure and organ- 

 ization. They feed upon insects and soft fruits. 



Subfamily TURDIN^. Thrushes, Bluebirds. 

 Genus Hylocichla Baird. 



346- (755). HylocicJila mustcUna (Gmel.). Wood Thrush. 



The Wood Thrush is a common or abundant summer resident 

 in all parts of Iowa from the early part of May until September. 

 While it is most common in thick, shady woods, the Wood Thrush 

 frequently appears on shaded lawns. It is a beautiful songster, 

 with tones of a mellow, flute-like quality. The species is recog- 

 nized at sight by the bright cinnamon upper parts and conspicu- 

 ously spotted breast and sides. The nest is a substantial struct- 

 ure of leaves, rootlets and weeds, well plastered with mud and 

 lined with fine rootlets; usually placed in a small tree from six 

 to fifteen feet from the ground, rarely as high as thirty feet. 

 The Wood Thrush is frequently imposed upon by the Cowbird, 

 Keyes and Williams noting instances in which the Thrush was 

 sitting on eggs of the Cowbird, with none of its own, and another 

 nest contained four eggs of each species — eight in all. The eggs 

 are three to five in number and plain greenish-blue in color. 



347. (756). Hylocichla fiiscescens {Si&'^h..). Wilson Thrush. 



The Wilson Thrush or Tawny Thrush is a tolerably common 

 migrant in eastern and central Iowa and very rare in the western 

 part of the state. "In his notes on the Birds of Iowa, Allen re- 

 ports T.fuscesccns as being very common in western Iowa [July, 

 Mem. Bost. Soc, i, 1868, p. 493] ,< but in the course of two years' 

 careful observation in the southern part of the state (Decatur and 

 Mahaska counties) I have never seen or heard a single individual 

 of this species" (T. M. Trippe, Proc. Bost. Soc, xv, 1872, p. 234). 

 The Wilson Thrush occurs very rarely as a summer resident 

 from central Iowa northward, frequenting low. damp woods and 

 thickets, and is very shy and retiring in its habits. Keyes and 

 Williams state that several nests have been taken at Des Moines 

 which are thought to belong to this species (Birds of Iowa, i! 



