310 REPORT OF NEW JERSEY STATE MUSEUM. 



number of specimens taken near New York City, but only stragglers 

 and not from New Jersey. 



The Gnatcatcher is as small as the Kinglets, with some of their 

 habits and some of those of the Chickadee. His song is very low 

 pitched. 



Family TURDID^I. 



THE THRUSHES, ROBINS AND BLUEBIRDS. 



The members of this family are generally regarded as our finest 

 songsters, their notes being peculiarly sweet and musical. 



Their most conspicuous structural characteristic is the so-called 

 "booted" tarsus, the plates on the front of the tarsus being welded to- 

 gether into one long piece. 



The typical Thrushes are very similar to one another, being brown 

 above and white beneath, with the breast more or less speckled. The 

 familiar Robin and Bluebird differ widely in color, and have plain 

 breasts, but their young show the characteristic spotted breast of the 

 Thrush family. 



a. General color above blue, breast rusty red. BLUEBIRD, p. 315 



aa. General color above dusky, head and tail black, breast rusty red. 



ROBIN, p. 314 



aaa. General color above brown or olive-brown, breast white or buffy, more or 

 less speckled or streaked. 



6. Head and back brighter brown than the tail, which inclines to olive ; 



spots below large, round and black. WOOD THRUSH, p. 311 



66. Upper parts uniform reddish-brown, markings below faint and 



brownish, confined to the throat and upper breast. VEERY, p. 311 



666. Tail more rusty brown than the back. HERMIT THRUSH, p. 313 



6666. Upper parts uniform olive-brown. 



c. Throat, upper breast and sides of face deep buff. 



OLIVE-BACKED THRUSH, p. 313 

 cc. Throat, breast and sides of face grayish-white. 



GRAY-CHECKED THRUSH, p. 312 

 BICKNELL'S THRUSH, p. 313 



