216 WAKE-ROBIN 



which were three and three quarters inches from 

 the end of the middle toe to the hip- joint; and the 

 deep uniform olive-brown of the upper parts, and 

 the gray of the lower. It proved to be the gray- 

 cheeked thrush, named and first described by Pro- 

 fessor Baird. But little seems to be known con- 

 cerning it, except that it breeds in the far north, 

 even on the shores of the Arctic Ocean. I would 

 go a good way to hear its song. 



The present season I met with a pair of them 

 near Washington, as mentioned above. In size 

 this bird approaches the wood thrush, being larger 

 than either the hermit or the veery; unlike all 

 other species, no part of its plumage has a tawny 

 or yellowish tinge. The other specimen was the 

 northern or small water-thrush, cousin-german to 

 the oven - bird and half brother to the Louisiana 

 water-thrush or wagtail. I found it at the head of 

 a remote mountain lake among the sources of the 

 Delaware, where it evidently had a nest. It usually 

 breeds much farther north. It has a strong, clear 

 warble, which at once suggests the song of its con- 

 gener. I have not been able to find any account of 

 this particular species in the books, though it seems 

 to be well known. 



More recent writers and explorers have added to 

 Audubon's list over three hundred new species, the 

 greater number of which belong to the northern 

 and western parts of the continent. Audubon's 

 observations were confined mainly to the Atlantic 

 and Gulf States and the adjacent islands; hence the 



