334 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 



or in a pile of old brush and fagots : it is constructed of 

 fine twigs, leaves, and grasses, and is lined with fine leaves 

 of grasses, and sometimes a few hair-like roots. 



The eggs are usually four in number. Their ground color 

 varies from grayish to reddish-white: this is covered, over 

 the entire surface, with fine dots and points of reddish- 

 brown : in some specimens these dots run into each other, 

 and from small blotches. The average dimensions of a 

 great number of specimens in my collection is about .94 by 

 .76 inch. When placed in a tray beside an equal number 

 of the eggs of the Brown Thrush, the eggs of this species 

 appear much paler, and with a more roseate tint ; otherwise, 

 except with regard to size, the two species resemble each 

 other much. 



In New England, but one brood is usually reared in the 

 season. I have found nests with young in June and 

 August, but generally the first brood leaves the nest too late 

 for another to be brought out before the early frosts. 



About the middle of October, the old birds and their 

 young, in small detached flocks, leave New England on 

 their southern migration. 



