The Thrush Family 275 



THRUSHES 



Thrushes are much like the robin in their habits, but 

 their backs are olive-brown or tawny and their breasts 

 white, with numerous small dark spots. They are 

 smaller than the robin and larger than the bluebird. 

 In yards that have considerable shrubbery, in parks, and 

 in woods, thrushes are likely to be common in April and 

 May, sometimes even more numerous than robins. Like 

 the latter, they get much of their food from the ground. 

 When migrating they are usually quiet, but after they 

 reach their summer homes the woods resound with their 

 melodious voices. During the migrating season five 

 kinds of thrushes may be seen, but in summer some of 

 these are to be found only in Canada and the northern 

 part of the United States. It is easy to know a thrush, 

 but not easy to distinguish the different kinds. 



The wood thrush. This is the largest of the thrushes. 

 It has the under parts most conspicuously spotted. The 

 top of its head and neck are a brighter cinnamon-brown 

 than the back. It breeds throughout most of the eastern 

 half of the United States, and is one of the two thrushes 

 likely to be seen in summer farther south than the Great 

 Lakes. The brown thrasher, often called brown thrush, 

 does not belong to the thrush family (page 295). 



The hermit thrush. The hermit thrush differs from 

 other thrushes in having the tail a brighter brown than 

 the back. Many of them winter in the Southern states ; 

 some in Cuba and Mexico. In the Northern states they 

 may be seen for several weeks in April. Some nest in 

 Minnesota, northern Michigan, and New England. 



