OUR WEST COAST THRUSHES. 



yHE HERMIT THRUSH is a 



winter visitant on this Coast. 

 It runs along under our win- 

 dow, through the dripping myrtle 

 and nasturtiums, by the first dawn 

 of the morning. Always there is one 

 bird alone, as if it were indeed a hermit, caring 

 nothing for the society of other people. It is the 

 most beautiful singer of any ground-bird we are 

 acquainted with. 



The sparrows go in pairs or small "companies 

 over the selfsame ground near the house, but the 

 hermit is all by itself, with only its melody for 

 company. 



We hear the song before it is quite daylight, 

 and run to the window to look. There is the 

 hermit, creeping along in the dusk, under the 

 plant leaves, after his breakfast of belated night- 

 insects. Many insects are | ^j^^ TOPICS . 

 fond of moist climates, 



Climate (dry and wet), 



and would die quickly in 

 the dry, warm noontide. 



189 



and its effects on 

 plants and animals. 



