TURDUS 



4. SWAINSON'S THRUSH. 

 TURDUS SWAINSONI. 



Turdus swainsoni, Cabanis in Tschudi's Faun. Peru. ii. p. 187, 188, 

 (1845-46) ; Naumann, xiii. p. 273, Taf. 355, fig. 4 ; Dresser, ix. 

 p. 1. pi. 634, fig. 2 ; Seebohm, Cat. B. Br. Mus. v. p. 201. 



Ad. (N. America). Above olivaceous tinged with green, the rump and 

 tail uniform with the back ; below white spotted with blackish brown, the 

 sides of head, neck and the breast washed with buff ; eye-streak indistinct ; 

 bill dark brown, yellowish at the base ; legs brown ; iris hazel. Culmen 

 0*52, wing 3'9, tail 2'9, tarsus I'l inch. 



Hob. Eastern N. America, from the Yukon and Slave Lake, 

 breeding as far south as at 44 N. lat., in winter ranging as far 

 south as Peru ; has once occurred in Greenland, and is a rare 

 visitant to Europe, but has not occurred in Great Britain. Six 

 occurrences have been recorded in Europe, viz. one near Genoa 

 in 1843, a second at Namur, Belgium, a third on Heligoland 

 in 1869, a fourth in Holstein, a fifth near Rovereto, Tyrol, in 

 1878, and a sixth at Sarzana in Liguria. 



In general habits it is rather more arboreal than its congeners, 

 and seeks its food more amongst the branches of trees than on 

 the ground, feeding chiefly on insects of various kinds. Its song 

 is sweet and plaintive, and is said to be more regular than that 

 of T. pallasi. Its nest is placed on a tree in dense woods, usually 

 about four to six feet above the ground, though in the high 

 north it has been found as low as two feet. It is compact and 

 neatly finished, constructed of lichen, moss, chiefly Hypnum, 

 leaves, bents, strips of bark, &c., and the eggs 4 or 5 in number, 

 which are usually deposited late in April or early in May, are 

 bluish-green, occasionally light blue, spotted with yellowish- or 

 reddish-brown, averaging in size about 0*88 by 0*66. In 

 Western N. America a closely allied form occurs, which is 

 separated by American authors under the name of T. ustidatus 

 Nutt., and which ranges north to Sitka, and in winter south 

 through Western Mexico to Guatemala. 



5. HERMIT THRUSH. 

 TURDUS PALLASI. 



Turdus pallasi, Cab. inWiegm. Arch. (1847), p. 205 ; Naumann, xiii. p.. 

 273, Taf. 355, figs. 1, 2 ; Dresser, ix. p. 5, pi. 634, fig. 1 ; Seebohm, 

 Cat. B. Br. Mus. v. p. 199 ; Merula solitaria Swains. Faun. Bor. 

 Am. ii. p. 184, pi. 35. 



