THE OLIVE-BACKED THRUSH. ; p05) 
sides of the throat and fore part of the breast with sub-rounded spots of well-defined 
brown, darker than the back; the rest of the breast (except medially) with rather 
less distinct spots that are more olivaceous; tibie yellowish-brown; broad ring round 
the eye; loral region, and a general tinge on the side of the head, clear reddish-buff. 
Length, seven inches; wing, four and fifteen one-hundredths; tail, three and 
ten one-hundredths inches; tarsus, one and ten one-hundredths. 
Hab. — Eastern North America to the Black Hills, south to Mexico and Peru, 
north to Greenland. Accidental in Europe and Siberia. 
This species is at once distinguished from the others by the perfectly uniform and 
pure dull-olivaceous shade of its upper parts, most strongly marked and appreciable 
on the rump and tail. The throat and breast are perhaps more reddish than in any 
of our species, and the tinge in the marking on the side of the head is very much 
more decided than in any other. The spots on the breast larger than in 7. ustulatus, 
and rather more numerous than in pallasit. 
This species is the least common of all the New-England 
thrushes. It is rarely observed in its passage through the 
southern.portions of these States, and only begins to choose 
a home for the summer on arriving at the northern districts. 
I have looked for it repeatedly, but have not been able to 
find it south of the latitude of Lake Umbagog, in the breed- 
ing season; and even there it is not often met with. It 
arrives in the localities where it breeds about the first week 
in June. In common with the Hermit Thrush, it is called 
the “Swamp Robin,” and can hardly be distinguished from 
that bird, either by its song, which is beautiful, or by its 
breeding habits or nests. The eggs are different, being of a 
deeper green color: they are always (so far as my experi- 
ence goes) thinly spotted with dots and blotches of reddish 
and brown. The following are the dimensions of four eggs 
that I found in a nest near Wilson’s Mills, Me., on the 16th 
of June, 1864: .93 by .64 inch, .98 by .63 inch, .92 by .60 
inch, .90 by .61 inch. 
The only difference in the habits of this species from those 
of the Hermit Thrush is, that, while the latter is most usually 
found in swampy localities, the other is most often seen in 
dry, scrubby woods, where it is almost always busily engaged 
in the pursuit of its favorite insect food. . 
J. A. Allen, in his paper on the birds of Springfield, 
Mass., before referred to, is of the opinion that this species 
