— II — 



nearly perpendicular stems. In another instance the chosen 

 site was in a larger fir, about ten feet from the ground, on a 

 horizontal branch four feet from the trunk. 



The nest generally measures from three to three and one- 

 half inches in height, and about four inches in diameter, out- 

 side measurements, though the structure is somewhat elliptical 

 in outline. The cavity averages two and three-fourths inches 

 by two and one-fourth inches, major and minor axes, and more 

 than one and one-half inches in depth. It is founded on loose 

 coarse grasses, the walls being made of dried grasses, green 

 lichens, and fine weed-stems. The lining is generally fine 

 grass, horsehair, and scanty amount of moss. Frequently a 

 nest is found having fine bark as part of the wall materials, 

 and occasional nests are noted without moss or lichen either 

 in walls or lining. 



The eggs of this thrush present noticeable variations in their 

 markings. The ground color is a light greenish-blue, which 

 in some eggs seems to be quite pale because of the lack of 

 other marks. In other eggs the ground color is almost ob- 

 scured by the number and size of the blotches of pale reddish 

 brown. On some eggs the marks are mere specks; on others the 

 markings are bold blotches of color. The distribution of the 

 marks is very irregular, there being no uniformity in this re- 

 spect. 



The nest complement may be either four or three eggs. Of 

 seventeen nests examined containing full sets, ten contained 

 four eggs and the remainder contained three; hence it seems 

 that in this region nests with four eggs are found more fre- 

 quently among first sets than with only three. 



The open habits in nidification of the olive-backed thrush are 

 seemingly at variance with its shy, secretive disposition. In 

 many instances the nests were quite unconcealed, being con- 

 structed in exposed crotches beside paths and roads, almost 

 within reach of the passing traveler. Furthermore, the sit- 

 ting bird will linger with her charge until the disturber has 

 approached to less than arm's length. Having flitted from 

 the nest, however, the bird will disappear in the shrubbery 

 and remain hidden in silence, though sometimes she manifests 

 her uneasiness by chirping mournfully from her covert. 



Nests of this thrush were found in all the localities men- 

 tioned in the opening paragraphs of this paper. The favored 

 localities, however, appeared to be the swampy area at the 

 right of the mouth of Swan Eiver, and the wooded, bushy 

 lot across the road from the Station grounds. It is 



