

2 TURDUS M1GRATORIUS. 



Generally birds of plain colors, but what they lack in this respect is made up in vocal powers, for among them are some 

 of the finest singers in the world. The stomach is quite muscular. The provcntriculus is not large and is provided with 

 simple glands which are arranged in a zonular band. The pancreas is quite large and the spleen is a cylindrical body, 

 usually curved. The coeca are present but very small. 



GENUS I. TURDUS. THE THRUSHES PROPER. 



GEN. Cn. Bill, shorter than the head, conical, with the tip slightly curved and notched, either yellow in color or brown, 

 lighter at the base of the lower mandible. Anterior face of tarsus, in adult specimens, fused into a continuous plate. 



Members of this genus are spotted below, at least in some stage of plumage, but a few species exhibit this character 

 only when very young. 



TURDUS MIGRATORIUS. 



Robin. Migratory Thrush. 



Turdus miyratorius LINN., Syst. Nat. 12 ed.; 1766, 292. 



DESCRIPTION. 



SP. CH. Form, robust. Size, large. Wings, rather long and pointed. Tail, slightly rounded. Marginal indenta- 

 tions, equal in depth to the width of the sternum. Tongue, not very wide, slightly cleft at the extremity, and delicately 

 fringed with cilia for about one half of the terminal length. 



COLOR. Adult male in spring. Back, rump, outer edges of primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, ashy-gray; other 

 portions of wings above, dark-brown. Top and sides of head, upper portions of throat and tail, black; the latter, streaked 

 with white. Interscapular region, ashy, spotted with black. Spots above and below the eye and just in front of the upper 

 portion of it, chin, abdomen, and under tail coverts, pure white; the latter, streaked with ashy. Under parts of wings and 

 tail, glaucous, with the primaries tinged with pale buff. Remainder of lower portion, including under wing coverts, rich 

 golden-brown. Bill, yellow. 



Adult female in spring. Similar to the above but generally paler which is especially noticeable in the colors below which 

 are inclined to be yellowish-rufous. 



Adult in winter. The plumage differs from that in spring in having the feathers of the under portion of the body, as 

 well as the secondaries and tertiaries, tipped with white. The upper surface is tinged with brown. This is especially no- 

 ticeable in Robins taken in Southern Florida during January. 



Young. Similar to the winter male, but has two white bars on the wings composed of drop-shaped marks on the tips 

 of the two rows of wing coverts. During winter, birds in this stage are strongly tinged with brown, both on the under and 

 upper surfaces of the body. The bill is also browner. 



Nestlings. Pale yellow beneath, barred and spotted throughout with black. The feathers of the upper surface are 

 darker and tipped with drop-shaped marks of white. The upper row of lesser wing coverts is streaked with brownish-yellow. 

 Throat and chin, pure white, with a brown maxillary line. Iris and feet, brown in all stages. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



The above description will serve +o distinguish this species from all others. As will be seen by dimensions given below, 

 specimens taken in Southern Florida, although smaller in size, have a longer tail than those from New England. The bill is 

 also longer in proportion to the size of the bird. This merely illustrates a now well-known law of nature. It is a widely 

 distributed bird, being found throughout the entire extent of North America. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average measurements of twenty-seven specimens from New England. Length, 9'69; stretch, 15'31; wing, 4'84; tail, 

 3'37; bill, '80; tarsus, 1-35. Longest specimen, 10'75; greatest extent of wing, 1(V50; longest wing, 5'40: tail,4'20; bill, 1-00; 

 tarsus, T36. Shortest specimen, 9-15; smallest extentofwing, 15 - 00; shortest wing, 4'25; tail, 3'76; bill, '70: tarsus, rio. 



Average measurements of seventeen specimens from Southern Florida. Length, 9'06; stretch, 15'03; wing, 4'87; tail, 

 3'90; bill, '71; tarsus, 1-06. Longest specimen, lO'OO; greatest extent of wing, 16'25; longest wing, 5-20; tail, 4-10; bill, 

 85; tarsus, T75. Shortest specimen, 9'15; smallest extent of wing, 14'80; shortest wing, 4'10; tail, 3'40; bill, -50; tarsus, 

 1-00. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



Nests, generally placed in trees or bushes, composed of mud mixed with grass, and the compound when dried forms a 

 kind of cement. They are almost always smoothly lined with fine, dead grasses, and are placed on a foundation of coarse 

 grass. Tlie nests are regular in form and well proportioned to the size of the bird. Nests built in damp localities contain 

 less mud than those found in drier places. Dimensions, external diameter, H'OO, internal, 4'50. External depth, 4'50, in- 

 ternal, 3'00. 



E/jys, four or five in number, oval in form, greenish-blue in color, of varying shades but generally very dark, and un- 

 spotted. Dimensions from 1'OSx '80 to ! 26 x '85. 



