Photo by G. H. Trafton 

 A Hermit Thrush at the Lunch Counter 



The Thrushes 



Ethel H, Hausman 



Our slender graceful thrushes are birds of moderate size, larger 

 than the English Sparrow, but smaller than the Robin. Their 

 general coloration (excepting the two most familiar members of 

 the family, the Robin and Bluebird) is brown above and white 

 beneath, spotted with black or brown. The color of the back 

 varies slightly in different species from a rich cinnamon brown 

 to an olive grayish brown, and the number and distinctness- 

 of the spots on the breast is also subject to variation. As a 

 rule there is little or no difference in color between the males and 

 the females. 



The most striking of the brown colored thrushes is undoubted- 

 ly the Wood Thrush or Wood Robin, so often seen in city parks 

 and in the borders of deep woods. It is the handsomest of the 

 family, I think, and without doubt the most useful from an 

 economic point of view, for it consumes large numbers of in^ 

 jurious insects, and but very little fruit. 



"He has a coat of cinnamon brown 

 The brightest on his head and crown, 

 A very low cut vest of white 

 That shines like satin in the light; 

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