234 THE RUSSET-BACKED THRUSH. 
abouts. On the 7th of March, 1891, several birds were “engaged in conversa- 
tion’’ by the writer near Tacoma; and on the 22nd of January, 1907, two 
birds were encountered on the University grounds in Seattle. In the latter 
instance the birds would not disclose themselves, altho they passed half way 
around me in the thicket, uttering their charac- 
teristic and unmistakable notes. 
In home building this Thrush makes no effort at 
nest concealment, trusting rather to the seclusion of 
its haunts. The materials which enter into the con- 
struction of the nest are themselves in a measure 
protective, especially in those 
numerous instances in which 
the exterior 1s composed en- 
tirely of green moss. At 
other times, twigs, bark- 
strips, and grasses are used; 
but the two things which 
give character to the nest of 
this Thrush are the mud- 
cup, or matrix, of mud and 
leaf-mold, and the lining of 
dried leaf-skeletons. I have 
surprised a mother Russet at 
her task of cup-moulding, 
and verily her bib was as 
dirty as that of any child 
making mud pies. For altho 
the beak serves for hod and 
trowel, the finishing touches, 
the actual moulding, must 
be accomplished by pressure 
of the bird’s breast. 
During a season’s nesting 
at Glacier, in the Mount 
Baker district, Mire Dia be 2°42) 2olincn asareanley: 
Brown located about a hun- MOTHER RUSSET AND HER BROOD. 
dred sets of the Russet- 
backed Thrush, taking no account of nests in other stages of occupation. In 
distance from the ground, nests varied from six inches to forty feet, altho a 
four or five foot elevation was about the average. Nests were found in 
thickets, where they were supported by the interlacing of branches, or else 
saddled upon the inclined stems of vine maples, or in fir trees. In the last- 
Taken in Oregon. 
