330 BIRDS OF NORTH CAROLINA 



The Wood Thrush, "Wood Robin," " Swamp Robin," or "Quillaree," arrives in 

 North Carolina in the forepart of April and has been observed as late as the middle 

 of October. It breeds in May and June, building its nest chiefly of weed stems 

 and leaves and plastering it inside with mud. The nest, as a rule, is placed in a 

 small tree at a height of from three to twelve feet from the ground, and in it are 

 laid four greenish-blue, unspotted eggs, which average about 1.00 x .75. 



This bird is a very melodious singer, the loud and liquid notes sounding particu- 

 larly sweet in the early morning, and doubtless the mountain name " Quillaree" is a 

 supposed imitation of its song. Pearson has called attention to the fact that among 

 the large trees on the campus of the State University at Chapel Hill these birds 

 greatly outnumber the robins, while on the campus at Guilford College, where 

 apparently about the same natural conditions prevail, the reverse is the case. 



336. Hylocichla fuscescens fuscescens (Steph.). VEERY. 



Description: Ads. Upperparts, wings, and tail nearly uniform cinnamon-brown, not so bright 

 as in the Wood Thrush; center of the throat white; sides of the throat and breast with a delicate 

 tinge of cream-buff, spotted with small wedge-shaped spots of nearly the same color as the back; 

 belly white; sides white, with only a faint tinge of grayish. L., 7.52; W., 3.84; T., 2.87; B., .53. 



Remarks. The Veery's distinguishing characters are: (1) its uniform cinnamon-brown upper- 

 parts: (2) its delicately marked breast; and (3) particularly its almost white sides. The Wood 

 Thrush has the sides heavily spotted, and the other thrushes have this part more or less strongly 

 washed with grayish or brownish. (Chap., Birds of E. N. A.) 



Range. Eastern North America in summer. 



Range in North Carolina. Transient, except in the mountains, where it is a summer visitor 

 above 3,500 feet. 



FIG. 271. VEBBY. 



The Veery or Wilson's Thrush is a rare transient at Raleigh in May and Sep- 

 tember, and has also been observed at Chapel Hill during the migrations. 



In the mountains it has been recorded as common above 3,500 feet in Buncombe 

 County (Cairns), and nests there in May. Brewster found it on Black Mountain 

 and near Highlands in 1884, at from 3,500 to 5,000 feet elevation. Rhoads reported 

 it common on Roan Mountain at from 3,000 to 5,000 feet in June, 1895, and saw 

 a pair nest-building. Sherman and C. S. Brimley collected one and saw another on 

 Joanna Bald Mountain, near Andrews, May 14, 1908, at an elevation of 4,000 

 feet. Collett says it is common on the Big Snowbird Mountains in Graham County ; 



