THE OLIVE-BACKED THRUSH. 421 



THE OLIVE-BACKED THRUSH. 



In every direction over the island we hear the songs of 

 Warblers. Here is the song of the ever-present Yellow- 

 warbler (D. astwa), the hurried melody of the Canada 

 Warbler, the drowsy notes of the Black-throated Green, 

 and the slender ditty of the Black-and-white Creeping 

 Warbler. Amidst them all I hear the song of a Thrush. 

 To an inexperienced ear it might pass for a poor perform- 

 ance of the Wood Thrush, but it is decidedly inferior in 

 capacity, and the tones are not nearly -so loud, liquid and 

 penetrating. I hurry out and look around, but cannot detect 

 the singer, which becomes silent on the least disturbance in 

 his vicinity. During breakfast we hear him again, and are 

 as much puzzled as before. Searching the trees and bushes 

 around the tent, I find a nest in a small balsam-fir, placed 

 on a limb near the trunk and about eight feet from the 

 ground. It is the nest of the Olive-backed Thrush (Turdus 

 swainsoni). While yet in the tree I hear its alarm note, 

 'quit, quit, quit ; the syllables being uttered several times, 

 with a pause of a few seconds after each articulation. The 

 alarm note, like the song, bears a striking resemblance to' 

 that of the Wood Thrush, except that in the case of the lat- 

 ter, the sharp syllable is uttered a greater number of times 

 and in rapid and spirited succession: quit-qiiit-qnit-quit-quit. 

 In size, however, about 7-7.50 long, the Olive-back is nearer 

 Wilson's Thrush and the Hermit; but it is always to be dis- 

 tinguished from the former by its darker upper parts, which 

 are of a deep olive-brown, becoming reddish on the rump 

 and tail, and by its larger breast-markings, and from the 

 latter by its creamy breast and cheeks, as well as by its 

 more dusky mantle. The creamy breast shades into the 

 white of the under parts, and the black spots become more 

 obscure on the lower parts of the breast. 



