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TURDID&, THRUSHES.— GEN. 1. dat 
assigned to the thrushes. But only a part of the thrushes themselves show this 
character ; on which account, probably, the rest were associated by Cabanis with 
the wrens. It seems to me most probable that this character, though unques- 
tionably of high import, should be taken as of less value than the reduction of the 
number of primaries from ten to nine; and I am at present inclined to believe that 
eventually some Oscine family with only nine primaries—as the finches or tanagers 
—will take the leading position. Here, however, I follow usage. 
Family TURDIDA. Thrushes. 
The oval nostrils are nearly or quite reached, but not covered, by feathers. 
There are bristles in all our genera about the rictus and base of upper mandible. 
The toes are deeply cleft, the inner one almost to its very base, the outer to the 
end of its basal joint. The bill is not conical, nor deeply fissured, and wswally has 
a slight notch near the tip. There are 12 tail-feathers (in all our forms), and 
10 primaries, of which the 1st is short or spurious, and the 2d is shorter than the 
4th. Our two subfamilies are sharply defined by the character of the tarsus. 
Subfamily TURDINA. Typical Thrushes. 
With the tarsus, in the adult, enveloped in one continuous plate, or ‘ boot,” 
formed by fusion of all the scutella except two or three just above the toes. Thus 
easily distinguished ; for our few other birds that show this feature are very differ- 
ent in other respects. The 1st quill is spurious or very short; the 2d is longer 
than the 6th; the 4th toe is longer than the 2d. Upwards of one hundred and 
fifty recorded species are now usually assigned to the Turdinew proper, most of 
them being referable to the single genus Turdus with its subgenera. They are 
nearly cosmopolitan, and have a great development in the warmer parts of 
America, where the subfamily is, however, mainly represented by types closely 
allied to Turdus proper; more aberrant forms, constituting very distinct genera, 
occur in the old world. We have but one genus in the United States, of which the 
robin is the most familiar example, though several other species are common and 
well known birds. These are diffused over all the woodland parts of our country, 
and are all strictly migratory. They are insectivorous, but like many other insect- 
eating birds, feed much upon berries and other soft fruits. Although not truly 
gregarious, some, as the robin for instance, often collect in troops at favorite feed- 
ing places, or migrate in companies. They build rather rude nests, often plastered 
with mud, never pensile, but saddled on a 
bough, or fixed in a forked branch, or on 
the ground; and lay 4-6 greenish or 
bluish eggs, sometimes plain, sometimes 
spotted. They are all vocal, and some, 
like the woodthrush, are exquisitely melo- 
dious. 
1. Genus TURDUS Linneus. 
* Not spotted nor banded below ; throat AY 
streaked. (Subgenus Planesticus.) FG. 13. Robin; natural size. 
Robin. Dark olive-gray, head and tail blackish; below reddish-brown, 
throat black and white, under tail coverts and crissum white with dark marks, 
