TfUIJID.E — TIIH TIIKUSHES. IQ 



Tlinisli, lias not liccii (lisliiii^uislu'il from tlic flosL'ly allied sjiocics T. ■•ii'-ain- 

 ao/ii, aiul all accounts of writers lia\i' liU'iiiU'd liotli in singular coiil'usion. 

 jVfv I'oUeajim', rrolessor iiaird, in tliu siiuinu'r of 1S44, was the lirsl to siig- 

 gest the distinctness uf the two s]iecies. IJy the common jxiople of Maine 

 anil tile Iiritish I'rnvinces this diilerenci! has lon.t,' been- generally reeo_nni/ed, 

 this species hein.^ known as the "(Jround Swamp liohin," iiiid the other as 

 the " Swam]) K'ohin." 



The present species is roiinil throughout Kastern X'li'th America to the 

 ^Iississi])pi, and breeds from Massachusetts to high arctir regions. It is 

 only occasionally found breeiling so far sotith as .Arassachusctts ; through 

 which State it pusses in its s])ring migrations, sometimes as early as the Idth 

 of April ; usually reaching Calais, Maine, by the I'lth of the same month. 



It is a very al)r.ndant l)ird throughout Maine, where it begins to breed 

 during the last week of May, and where it also probably has two broods 

 in a season. 



The greater number ap])ear to pass the winter in th" Southern States; it 

 lieing common in I-'lorida, ami even occasionally seen during that season as 

 far north as latitude 38° in Southern Illinois, according to Mr. Hidgway. 



It rarely, if ever, sings during its migration's ; ai>pears in small straggling 

 comiiauies, frequents both thickets and open fields, and is unsuspicious and 

 easily aiiproached. 



The son,tf of this species is very fine, having many of the clianicteristios 

 of that of the Wood Thrush (7'. luiistr/uiiis). It is as sweet, has the .same 

 tinkling sounds, as of a bell, but is neither so ])owerf'ul nor so prolonged, 

 and rises more rapidly in its intonations. It l)egins wiili low, sweet notes, 

 and ends abruptly with its highest, sharp ringing notes. 



Taken from the nest they are easily tamed, and are quite lively and 

 ])layful; but their want of cleanliness renders them very undesirable ])ets. 

 When their nest is visited they make no complaints, but retire to a distance. 

 Not so, howt^ver, when their natural enemy, the hawk, appears ; tlie.se they 

 at once assail and seek to drive away, uttering loud and clear chirps, and 

 jieculiar twittering soun<ls. 



The nest of this thrush is always built on the ground, most generally 

 either under low buslu's or in the open ground, rarely, if ever, among 

 thick trees, and for the most jiart in low swampy piaces. IJoth nest and 

 eggs closely resend)le tho.se of Wilson's Thrush ('/'. /iifursirns). In I'ars- 

 boro, Nova Scotia, I found one of the nests built in the very midst of the 

 village, close to a dwelling, though mi a .sjiot ,so marshy as to be almost 

 iinaiiproachable. The nests are '.'> inches in height and o in diameter, with 

 a cavity 3| inches wide by 1:| deep. They are comiiosed of decayed decidu- 

 ous leaves, remnants of dried i)huits, sedges and gnisses, intermingled with 

 twigs, and lined with finer grasses, sedges, and strips of Virk. 



The eggs are of a uniform bluish-green color, iiud range iu length from .88 

 to .94, with uu average of .Go of an inch. 



