410 McClintock, a Hermit Thrush Study. [oct! 



Nest Construction. 



The nest was entirely composed of the materials with which 

 the ground, surrounding the site, was thickly strewn; namely, 

 dead Norway and white pine needles, green moss, decayed wood 

 and dead twigs. Although there were jack pines within a few 

 feet of the nest, no needles of this species were used. For the 

 inside lining of the nest, the finer white pine needles were exclu- 

 sively employed. The green moss was worked into the downward 

 sloping wall of the nest, but was not found in the rear wall. The 

 decayed wood was worked into both the rear and front walls. 

 The only other material gathered by the thrushes were a few dead 

 twigs, which were promiscuously scattered over the other materials 

 of which the nest was constructed. 



I wish to offer here what seems to me a probable and satis- 

 factory explanation why the color of the Hermit's tail is lighter 

 than the rest of its upper parts. In my observations, I noted that 

 the small bits of decayed pine wood, which were scattered about 

 the ground, were of a conspicuously lighter tone than the brown 

 of the predominating pine needles and other dead leaves. Not 

 only this, but when the sun shone, spots of sunlight filtered 

 through the trees and undergrowth, lighting up patches of brown 

 upon the ground. The color of the Hermit's tail had just the 

 effect of the small pieces of dead wood and of the simlit spots 

 mentioned. It was very evident that these thrushes were, at least 

 in that locality, better protected by the lighter color of the tail 

 than if the latter were uniform in color with the back and wings, 

 as in the Olive-backed Thrush. 



Feeding. 



It was half an hour after I entered my blind on August 2, before 

 the young were fed, which was done by both parents. During 

 the first hour, there were but three feedings and during the suc- 

 ceeding one and one half hours six feedings more. Sometimes 

 twenty minutes elapsed between feedings, at other times but a 

 moment. The average interval during my two and one half 

 hours watching on this first day was sixteen and three quarters 



