23-' 



THE RUSSET-BACKED THRLSll. 



AR'I'IS'l'S "f till." later schools agrt-c lliat sliadows are not often black, as 

 they have l>eeii conventionally rejjresented for centuries. Tiieir (lce|)est color 

 note is always that of tlie ground, or screen, wliich bears tliem. The Thrush, 

 therefore, is the truest enilnxliinent of woodland shaile, for the shifting russets 



of its up|K"rj)arts 

 melt and blend with 

 the tints of fallen 

 leaves, dun roots, 

 and the shadows of 

 tree-lK)les cast on the 

 brown ashes of fall- 

 en comrades. Not 

 content, either, with 

 such protective guar- 

 antee, this gentle 

 sjiirit clings to cover, 

 and reveals itself on- 

 ly as a Hitting shade 

 and a haunting 

 voice. N'ow and then 

 a brown gleam does 

 cross some open 

 space in the forest. 

 ^^ but the action is has- 



^ ty and the necessity 



much regretted. 



The Russet -backed 

 Thrush is not much 

 given to s<ing, all ho 

 on occasion the 

 woodside may ring 

 with the simple mel- 

 ody of its 7i'cc loo 

 w c c I o ivccloccc*. 

 Other notes are more 

 notable and charac- 

 teristic; an<I by these 

 one may trace the 

 bird's everv movc- 



RDSSKT n.VCKKl) TUIUSU. 



». I'rof. O, 11 l..iin.,.i. Ill lii» "Lut of the Birjj of the Willamette Valley, Orenon" \.\m. Naturaliit, 

 July, 1880. p. 487I hat made an excellent characteriiation of this ung in ■'HoUty, gottndy, (otintfy. 



loxeendy." 



