THRUSHES, BLUEBIRDS, ETC. 



395 



KEY TO TIIK fiPKCIKS. 



A. Tail blue; Imek blue or hliiisli 70(5. Bi.i f.biud. 



Ji. Tail blui'k or bluekisli. tipped with wliito 7'il. KnitiN. 



('. Tail white, tipped witii black 7ti.">. Wiikatkau. 



/>. Tail olive-brown or rul'ous, without white spots. 



a. Upper parts einuaiiioti-browii ; tail not britrhter than the baek. 



a*. Entire under parts, ineludin^' nii/tti, more or less heavily marked witli 

 round, blaek spots; buek A/'/y///(r than tail . . 7-'i."). Wuun Tnui sn. 



a'. Throat and upper breast pale butl'v, with small, cinnamon-brown, 

 weil:je-shaped spots; belly pure white; si<lcs with a buiclv perceptililo 

 f^rayisli wasli 7''i<!. Wilson's Tuitisii. 



b. Upper parts olive; back and tail nearly the same color. 



6*. Throat, breast, elieeks, eye-ring, and lores deep cream-bull". 



7r)S(i. Oi.ivK r,A( KKi> Tnursri. 

 J>. Throat, breast, cheeks, eye, and .space before the eye white, witti only 

 a i'lri/ dight buti'y tinge. 



7r)7. ({KAV-ruKKKKo TiiiasM. 7.')7(J. Hn;K\Ki.i.'s Tnuisn. 



c. Upper parts olive-brown, sometimes inclining to cinnamon ; ui)iH'r tail- 

 coverts and <a«7 rufous 1')'^b. IIei-.mit Tnui su. 



765. Turdus mustelinus (hnd. WoonTnuj-sn. .If/.— Upper parts 



bright cinnamon-brown, hriif/it<nt an tin' hr<til, and cliaiiging gradually to pale 

 olive-brown on the upjier tail-coverts and tail; under j)arts whiti', thickly 

 marked with lar(j(\ rouml black spots e.\eept on the throat and middle of the 

 belly. L., 8"2'J ; W., 444 ; T., -J'.fJ ; 1?., •(■„-,. 



Ri'inarliS. — The Wood Thrush nuiy be distinguished from our other 

 Thrushes (1) by its larger size ; i2) by its brighter, more rufous color above; 

 and (3) especially by the numerous large, round black spots on its under 

 parts. These cover not only ♦he breast, but are eipudly numerous on the 

 sides, where tbey extend well uj) under the wings. 



Range. — Ea.stern United States; breeds as far north as Minnesota, Ver- 

 mont, and Quebec; winters in Central America. 



Washington, common .'^. K., .Apl. '20 to Oct. !.'>. Sing Sing, common S. K., 

 Apl. 30 to Oct. "1. Cambridge, rattier eoininon S. K., .May 12 to Sept. 1"). 



.AV.*^, of leaves, rootlets, fim; twin's, and weed stalks, firmly interwoven, 

 with an inner wall of mud and lining of line rootlets, generally in saplings, 

 about eight feet up. /:>/;/■>••, three to five, greenish blue, lighter and with less 

 green than those of the Catlnrd, '/^< /•'/;//«</ lighter, but not certainly distin- 

 guishable in color from those of the Uobiii, 1'0."> x -T'i. 



The Wood Thrush is not .so distinctively a bird f)f the woods as the 

 Veery. Well-shaded lawns are sometimes gracec] h\ his pre.seiice. and 

 at all times he is more familiar and easier to observe than his retiring 

 relative. His large size, briglit cinnamon upfier parts, and especially 

 his conspicuously spotted breast and sides, are his most striking field 

 characters. 



When excited, his u.sual call-note, pit-pit, is rapidly repeated until 



