24 LIFE-HISTORIES OF BIRDS 



Its diet is both vegetal and animal. The seeds 

 of grasses and the berries of the red-cedar, com- 

 mon-juniper, Rubus villosus, Prunus serotina, Fra- 

 garia Virginiana, and Viburnum Lentago consti- 

 tute the former; while the latter includes such 

 insects as Har pains compar, H. pensylvanicus, 

 Pang^ls caliginosus, Cratony r/ms cinereus, C. perti- 

 nax, Platymis ciipripennis, Rhyme hceus pini, For- 

 mica sanguinea and F. subterranea. 



The song of this Thrush is quaint but not 

 unmusical; variable in character, changing from a 

 monotonous whistle to quick and shrill notes at 

 the conclusion. It consists of an indescribably 

 delicate metallic articulation of the syllables 

 ta-weel'-ah, ta-weel-ah, twU'-ah, twil'ah followed by 

 a fine trill which renders it truly enchanting. The 

 above syllables expressive of the language of its 

 melody, which are those of Mr. Ridgway, are 

 tolerbly correct representations in our judgment. 



Its nest is commonly built during the early part 

 of June in a clump of grasses, so carefully hidden 

 as to escape observation. Indeed, there would be 

 little possibility of discovery, did the female ex- 

 ercise the slightest degree of precaution. Instead 

 of maintaining silence on the approach of danger, 

 her over-solicitude betrays her, and thu^s reveals 

 the tale. So rare is this species of Turdus that 

 we have never discovered more than a half dozen 

 nests in three square-miles of territory. 



In compactness and also in the variety of 

 materials which are utilized, considerable variation 



