May 1887.] 



AI^D OOLOGIST. 



69 



ter nests was on the ground, among a large 

 number of sets of eggs of difterent kinds of 

 Terns, on an Island in the Gulf of Mexico. 



Chamcepplia passe rina, Ground Dove. We 

 saw a few specimens at Laredo, on the Rio 

 Grande. We left there before they began to 

 breed. 



Meleagris <jallopavo umcn'raiM, Wild Turkej'. 

 Common, but very shy. We shot several. 

 (To be Concluded.) 



Notes on the Eggs of the Thrushes 

 and Thrashers. 



BY HARRY G. I'AKKKK. 



In the contemplation of a series of sets of the 

 eggs of the various species composing the 

 Thrushes and Thrashers there ai'e many in- 

 teresting points to the student in oology. A 

 casual observer will note the variety of color 

 displayed, and the varying number of eggs 

 comprising sets in the difterent genera. This 

 renders these families of special interest to the 

 lover ot the beautiful, and to the oologist it 

 aftords food for study and comparison, wliich 

 may beguile nninj^ hours, and bring the be- 

 liolder as near to nature as he can approach 

 in winter, with bleak winds and naked hills 

 without. 



AN'ood Tlirush {Ilyldcirhlu hiustcUnu). Deep 

 greenish blue eggs, easily distinguished from 

 the Robin's, which are larger. Four eggs gen- 

 erally constitute a set, though the writer has 

 taken one set of live in which one was a runt. 

 Very often also, only three are laid. This bird 

 is sometimes made the foster parent of the Cow- 

 bird's young, and two instances are remembered 

 where the foreign egg was taken with the 

 Thrushes eggs in a nest. In one case one p^g 

 of the Cowbii-d and one of the Thrush was 

 found, and in the other three eggs of the Cow- 

 bird and two of the Thrush. 



Eggs of this species show comparatively lit- 

 tle variation, but some examples are rounded 

 and some of the elongated form ; and the dif- 

 fering degrees of intensity of blue are percepti- 

 ble to a close observer. An extra large sized 

 specimen measures 1.11 x. 83; but this is quite 

 phenomenal howevei-, as the usual size is about 

 l.OOx.7.5. 



Wilson's Thrush {HijlorichUi fusccsrc as) . Eggs 

 universallj^ four, blue, unspotted. lu shade 

 they seem to be darker than eggs of the Hermit 

 Thrush, and this darker blue is constant in 

 comparing a series of each. The size is ap- 



parently the same, and a faded set of small 

 Catbird's eggs look somewhat like those of 

 Wilson's Thrush. 



The nest of this bird is essentially dift'erent 

 from that of the Wood Tlirusli, inasmuch as 

 it is losely constructed, and contains no mud, 

 and is placed on the ground or near it. It 

 breeds in Pennsylvania and Ohio sparingly, 

 and tinds its most congenial haunts in Xew 

 England and to the Northward. 



Gray-cheeked Thrush {nijlorirhla ulivUv). A 

 bird breeding c^uite conmionly in northern por- 

 tions of the country, but as authentic eggs are 

 seldom seen in private collections, it is enough 

 to say in this connection that they are a deep 

 shade of green marked with russet-brown spots 

 and are about the same size as eggs of Hyloci- 

 clila itstKlatu sii'ainsoni. 



Russet-backed Thrush (Hi/locichla iistulata). 

 This bird inhabits the Pacific coast States and 

 is evidently very widely dispersed in the pro- 

 vince. A large series of sets of these eggs 

 show very interesting variations in color, from 

 a light greenish ground flecked with lilac spots, 

 to a dark blue covered witli tints of yellow, 

 brown, lilac and red ; and in some examples 

 the ground color is obscured with the intensity 

 of brown and reddish spots, 'i'hese eggs in 

 some instances have a striking resemblance to 

 those of the Olive-backed Thrush. 



Olive-backed Thrush {Hijlocirhla ustnlata 

 swainsoni). Possibly breeds in the mountain- 

 ous portions of Pennsylvania, but its habitat 

 is Massachusetts and northward. Eggs of this 

 species run tlirough all the varieties exhibited 

 in a series of the Russet-back, and no rule can 

 be laid down for properly distinguishing the 

 eggs of these birds in the c;il)inet. Eggs com- 

 monly four, rarely five, and son)etimes three. 



A set collected at Grand Manan, N. B., June 

 18, 1884, was taken from a nest in a spruce tree 

 three feet from the gi-ound. Eggs bright blu- 

 ish green, specked all over with reddish brown, 

 (luite pointed, .90 x .(« ; .8!) x .04 ; .1)0 x .(«. 



Another set collected June 11th, 1877, also at 

 (irand Manan, X. B., the nest wliich was made 

 of roots etc., in a hollow stump about five feet 

 from the ground, has four eggs : .94 x .70 ; .94 x 

 .71 ; .96x .71 and .90 x .09. Pale bluish, spotted 

 with reddish brown, chiefly at the larger end. 

 In three of the eggs the markings form an in- 

 distinct wreath at the larger end. 



Hermit Thrush {IlylodrMa undlascii' palhisi). 

 Eggs generally four in number, average size 

 .90X.00. Though very similar to the eggs of 

 Wilson's Thrush, those of the present species 

 appear to be possessed of a much more delicate 



