160 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. 



Family TURDID/E. Thrushes, Solitaires, Stonechats, Bluebirds, Etc. 



Si bfamily TURDINiE. Thrushes. 



Genus TURDUS Linnaeus. 



Si i ims HYLOCICHLA Baird. 



[B 148, R i, C 6, U 755.I 

 Tardus mustelinus Gmel. Wood Thrush. Abundant summer res- 

 ident. Appears about the first of May, and remains until September. 

 It frequents the cool, shady woodlands in the vicinity of streams, where 

 it commences to breed two or three weeks after its arrival. The nest 

 of this species seems to be the favorite of the cow-bird {Molothrus 

 ater), as a repository for its eggs. So frequently is this the case, that 

 one may collect for a whole season, and not find more than half a dozen 

 sets of wood thrushes' eggs without these parasitic eggs — all the others 

 having from one to four eggs of M. ater in addition to those of the 

 thrush. Several instances have been noted in which the wood thrush 

 was sitting on the eggs of the cow-bird, with none of its own; while, on 

 the other hand, one nest contained four eggs of each species — eight 



in all. 



[B 151, R 2, C 7, U 756.] 

 Turdus fuscescens Steph. Wilson's Thrush. Migrant, and summer 

 resident. Several nests have been taken at Des Moines, which are 

 thought to belong to this species. 



[B 154, R 3, C 12, U 757.] 

 Turdus a lie ice Baird. Gray-cheeked Thrush. Migratory; common. 

 Arrives the first week in May, and remains about three weeks. 

 Usually found in company with the next, in woodland. 



[B 153, R 4 a, C 13, U 758,2.] 

 Turdus ustulatus swainsonii (Cab.). Olive-backed Thrush. Mi- 

 gratory; abundant; sojourning two or three weeks on both the spring 

 and fall migrations. It prefers the low, damp woodland bordering the 

 streams, but is often seen in favorable localities along the bluffs, at a 

 distance from the water-courses. 



[B 149, R 5 />, C 10, U 759/'.] 

 Turdus aonalaschkce pallasii (Cab.). Hermit Thrush. Migratory; 

 rather common; arriving about the middle of April. It is generally 

 seen in the woodland along the streams. 



Genus MERULA Leach. 

 [B 155, part, R 7, C 1, U 761.] 

 Merula migratoria (Linn.), Robin. Summer resident ; abundant. 

 Our most familiar species, and one of the earliest harbingers of spring, 



