Sbe Marbler 4 i 



morning hours they may occasionally be seen perched on dry branches 

 where they sun themselves or preen their feathers. Often they are seen 

 skimming over the water, touching the wet element quite frequently like 

 Swallows. Undoubtedly they drink in this way, and are at the same time 

 taking their bath. 



All the birds migrate from Texas southward by the beginning of Oc- 

 tober. My last record of having seen several of these birds near the West 

 Yegua was made September 26, 1882. 



Breeding of Bicknell's Thrush 



^HylocicJila alica? bicknellii) 



AS the Bicknell Thrush is quite local in its distribution and perhaps not 

 known to all bird lovers, a description of a trip after its nest and eggs 

 may be of interest. June 21st, 1904, accompanied by my son, a lad of ten 

 years, I left home to try my hand at finding the nest of this species, hitherto 

 unknown to me, but which I knew inhabited the White Mts. about twenty 

 miles distant from Lancaster, N. H. 



We passed the night in a small hotel at the base of the mountains, and 

 m the morning made an early start for the summit of Mt. Madison, one of 

 the Presidential Range, about four miles away. The path was a very good 

 one, cut out and graded a little for mountain climbers and led through a val- 

 ley up to and above the timber line, all the way in the forest till we reached 

 the limit of trees. The birds were common during the first part of our walk, 

 a number of varieties of Warbler being observed, among them Black-throat- 

 ed Blue, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, Myrtle and Magnolia. We 

 also heard several Winter Wrens, some Vireos and most abundant of all the 

 Olive-backed Thrush, to my mind the most charming of our woodland 

 songsters. 



When about two-thirds of the way up most of these birds disappeared, 

 occasionally a Winter Wren or a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher being heard and 

 one Nashville Warbler was found at a considerable elevation. 



The songs of the Olive-back became fewer and presently among the 

 scrubby spruces and firs that line the mountain side we heard harsh call 

 notes, very similiar to the Night Hawk's cry, but not so loud. These we 

 immediately recognized as the Bicknell Thrush and search for a nest began. 



The task looked rather serious as the whole side of the mountain was 

 covered with these short, bushy trees in thick and almost impenetrable con- 

 fusion, but by following up the notes of one of the birds, in a short time I 

 .succeeded in locating a nest in a low stunted fir about four feet up and con- 

 taining four eggs. This proved to be the sought for nest of the Bicknell 



