TrKDID.E — THE TIIRCSIIES. 



10 



Tlinisli, lias not Ixm-ii distinuMiislied I'roiu the closely alliuil spocics 7'. sir,t;,i- 

 soni, uiul all ac*counts of \vritei>» have blemkMl l»<.th in sinj^nlar coiitusiun. 

 ^Iv colloajj:ue, riolessor Jjaiid, in the summer of IS44, was the first to sui;- 

 «'est the tlistinc'tness of thi; two siieiies. Jiv tlie c«»mmon i»eonle of Maine 

 and the IJiitish Provinces this dilferenci; lias loni; heen u;ener.illy recoirni/«Ml, 

 this species hein;^' known as the "(iround Swamj) llohin," and the other as 

 the " Swamp Ilohin." 



Tlie present species is found throujih.out Eastern \ortli America to tlie 

 ^lississijjpi, and breeds from Massaciiusetts tt) higli arctic regions. It is 

 only occasionally found breeding so far south as Miussachusetts ; through 

 which State it passes in its s])ring migrations, sometimes as early as the lOth 

 of April ; usually reaching Calais, Maine, by the l')th of the same nu>nth. 



It is a very al>undant bir<l throughout Maine, where it begins to breed 

 duriu" the last week of ^lav, and where it also i>robablv has two broo<ls 

 in a season. 



The greater number ap]»ear to pass the winter in th'.» Southern States; it 

 being conunon in Fl(»rida, and even occasi<jnally seen during that season as 

 far n(uth as latitude 38' in Southern Illinois, according to Mr. llidgway. 



It rarely, if ever, sings during its migration's ; appears in small straggling 

 companies, fre([uents both thickets and open fields, and is unsuspicious and 

 ejjsily approached. 



The song of this species is very fine, having many of the chamcteristics 

 of that of the Wood Thrush {T. mttstt/imts). It is as sweet, has the same 

 tinkling sounds, as of a Ijell, but is neither so powerful nor so prolongeil, 

 and rises more rapidly in its intonations. It begins wiih low, sweet notes, 

 and ends abruptly with its highest, sharp ringing notes. 



Taken from the nest they are easily tamed, and are quite lively and 

 ])layful ; but their want of cleanliness renders them very undesirable pets. 

 When their nest is visited they make no complaints, but retire to a distance. 

 Xot so, however, when their natural enemy, the hawk, appears ; these they 

 at once assail and seek to drive away, uttering loud and clear chirps, and 

 })eculiar twittering sounds. 



The nest of this thrush is always built on the ground, most generally 

 either under low bushes or in tlie open ground, rarely, if ever, among 

 thick trees, and for the most part in low swampy places. Both nest and 

 eggs closely resemble those of Wilson's Thrush {T. fnacescem). In Tars- 

 boro, Xova Scotia, I found one of the nests built in the very midst of the 

 village, close to a dwelling, though on a spot so marshy as to be almost 

 unapproachal)le. The nests are 3 inches in height and 5 in diameter, with 

 a cavity 3 J inches wide by IJ deep. They are composed of decayed decidu- 

 ous leaves, renmants of dried })lants, sedges and grasses, intermingled with 

 twigs, and lined with finer giiisses, sedges, and strips of l-irk. 



The eggs are of a uniform bluish-gi-een color, and range iu length from .88 

 to .94, with au average of .03 of au inch. 



