306 LAND BIRDS 
closed over the scene, but the next morning the entire 
family of Solitaires had vanished utterly from the vicin- 
ity, so far as any trace of them could be found. 
758. RUSSET-BACKED THRUSH. — Hylocichla ustulata. 
Famity : The Thrushes, Solitaires, Bluebirds, ete. 
Length : 6.70-7.50. 
Adults ; Upper parts olive-brown, brownest on tail; conspicuous light 
yellow eye-ring ; sides of head washed with reddish brown; chest pale 
buff, with wedge-shaped spots of dark brown; belly white, washed 
with olive on sides. 
Geographical Distribution: Pacifie coast from California north through 
3ritish Columbia ; south in winter to Lower California, Mexico, and 
Guatemala. 
Breeding Range: From Northern California to Alaska, chiefly in Boreal 
zone. 
Breeding Season: May and June. 
Nest: Compact and bulky; of plant fibre, shreds of bark, and moss ; 
placed in saplings or bushes. 
Eggs: 4 or 5; pale turquoise blue. Size 0.94 & 0.65. 
THE Russet-backed Thrush is a common species along 
the Pacific coast from latitude 37° northward, remaining 
through the summer in the foot-hills and lower moun- 
tains, and occurring southward during migration. It is 
a lover of dense thickets, retirmg and unsociable, protest- 
ing against intrusion with a sharp “chuck, chuck,” and 
dodging into impenetrable tangles when aware that it is 
discovered. Only at twilight and in the earliest dawn 
may one hear the rich sweet song of this shy singer. As 
the first full notes float out from the quiet woodland, the 
bird-lover knows that a thrush and no other is the song- 
ster. The music is less spirituelle in quality than the 
