■234 



TIIK RUSSET-HACKED TIIKli^Il. 



alKnits. ( )ii tin- jtli c.f Maicli. 1S91. M\ttal hinls were "fiij{aKt.-tl in omviTsa- 

 tion'" In- the writiT near Tacnina; ami mi llie jjikI of Jaiuiary. n/Jj. two 

 birds were eiio>iinlcrcil dii the L'niversity grounds in Seattle. In the latter 

 instance tlie Ijirds would not disclose themselves, altho ihey passed half way 

 around nie in the thicket, uttering their charac- 

 teristic and unniistak.'dile notes. 



In home liuilding this Thrush makes no elTort 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 measuri" 

 protective, es|)ecially in those 

 numerous instances in which 

 the exterior is composed en- 

 tirely of green moss At 

 oilier times, twigs, hark- 

 slri])s, and grasses are used: 

 but the two things which 

 gi\e character to the nest of 

 this Thrush are the nuul- 

 cup, or matrix, of mud anil 

 leaf-mold, and the lining of 

 dried leaf-skeletons. I have 

 surprised a mother Russet at 

 her task of cup-moulding, 

 an<l verily her bib was as 

 dirty as that of any child 

 making mud pies. For altho 

 the beak serves for hod and 

 trowel, the (inishing touches, 

 the actual moulding, nuist 

 be accomplished by pressure 

 of the bird's breast. 



During a season's nesting 

 at Cdacier. in the Mount ''••'"" "' Oregon. 

 Baker district. Mr. D. [r. '•'■""' tj- B""""- "•""^"•'-•.v 

 Brown located about a hun- 

 dred sets of tlie 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 font elexation was about the average. Nests were found in 

 thickets, where they were supported by the interlacing of branches, or else 

 .sa<l<lled upon the inclined stems of vine maples, or in fir trees. In the last- 



.MOTIIKK Kl'SSliT .\.Mi IIKK IlKUUK. 



