BIRDS OF KANXAti. 651 



habits and actions, that one familiar with both is often in doubt 

 as to the bird in the bush, and only feels certain when he has it 

 in hand, or hears its call note or song. Doctor Brewer, in 

 "North American Land Birds," says in regard to the latter: 



"The Turdus alicice conies a few days the earlier, and is 

 often in full song when the T. swainsonii is silent. The song 

 of the former is not only totally different from that of the latter, 

 but also from that of all our other Wood Thrushes. It most re- 

 sembles the song of T. pallasi, but differs in being its exact in- 

 verse, for whereas the latter begins with its lowest notes, and 

 proceeds on an ascending scale, the former begins with its high- 

 est, and concludes with its lowest note. The song of T. swain- 

 sonii, on the other hand, exhibits much less variation in the 

 scale, all the notes being of nearly the same altitude." 



In the spring and early summer of 1880, I found these birds 

 quite common, and breeding, in Nova Scotia and on Grand 

 Manan Isle, New Brunswick. They were very shy, and as they 

 made their homes largely in the thick growths of trees, I seldom 

 caught a glimpse of one, and were it not for their exquisite song, 

 and sharp call and alarm notes, "Whit, whit, whit," so often 

 repeated, I should have thought them extremely rare. In migra- 

 tion, they frequent the more open woods, and are less wary. 



Their nests are built in bushes, or small trees, ranging from 

 two to eight feet from the ground. They are composed of leaves, 

 moss, twigs, strippings from plants, etc., and sometimes lined 

 with fine rootlets. Eggs usually four, ,92x.66; light greenish 

 blue, spotted and occasionally blotched with pale reddish to dark 

 brown and lilac, chiefly about the larger end; in form, oval. A 

 set of four eggs, collected June 15th, at Grand Manan, from a 

 nest in a small white birch, about six feet up, are, in dimensions: 

 .92x.67, .93x.66, .94x.68, .95x.65. 



Turdus aonalaschkae pallasii (CAB.). 



HERMIT THRUSH. 

 PLATE XXXV. 



Migratory; rare. I have never met with the birds in the 

 middle or western part of the State. Arrive in March and 



