TIIRL'SIIES, BLUEBIRDS, ETC. 



401 



IT TimrsH. 



'ale rufous, 

 itli u slight 

 black spots 

 Idlu of the 

 L, 3-5G ; T., 



ified by its 

 iiil briglitcr 



cliigan nnd 

 to I'ennsyl- 

 f States. 

 VV. v., Apl. 

 to May 9 ; 

 May 5 ; Oct. 



s and pino 

 1' u tUghtly 



Is are still 

 Mifless — the 

 on its mi- 

 a shy bird, 

 ided woe' 

 iiif^h along 

 approach 

 of manner 

 le ground, 

 ghts from 

 It may 

 especially 

 the bird's 

 ke. 

 :mg birds, 

 in pnrity 

 nequaled. 

 ut though 

 ry highest 

 juil elear- 

 ny woods 



le, and he 



pts, which 



CKNELL. 



Tlic lii:n-wiN'(iKn TiiRisii (760. Tunlus i/iacus), a European species, is of 

 accidental occiirrencu in (Jreenlantl. 



761. Merula mi^atoria {LiimA. Amkkkan Kobix. (See Fig. 

 59, (I.) All. 6 . — Top and sides ut the head Mack, a wliite spot above the eye ; 

 rest of the upper parts gnivish slate-mlor ; iiuu-jrins (if wiiiiTs sli!.'htly liirliter; 

 tail black, the outer featliers witii white sjiots at their tips; throat white, 

 spotted with black; rest of the under parts rufuus (tipped with white in tho 

 fall), beeoinini,' white on the middle of the lower l)elly. Ail. 9 . — Similar, but 

 back of head tipped with grayish ; back, tail, and under parts lighter. Yoiing 

 in ludltTKj jiluina(ji'. — Back i.nd under parts spotted with lilack. L., 1000; 

 \V., 4-'JiJ; T., a-s7; B., •H4. 



Jiaiiijc. — " Eastern North America to the Koeky Mountains, including east- 

 ern Mexico and AlasKa. Breeils from near the southern border of the United 

 States northward to the arctic coast; winters from southern Canada and the 

 Northern States (irregularly) soutiiward" (A. (). U.). 



Washington, rather common S. K., abundant T. V., from Feb. to Aiil.; 

 irregularly common W. \. Sing Sing, common S. K., Mch. 4 to Oct. ;J0 ; a few 

 winter. Caml)ridge, very abuiulant S. K., common but irregular \V. V. 



Kid, of coarse grasses, leaves, rootlets, etc., with an inner wall of mud and 

 lining of line grasses, most frequently in fruit or shade ti-ees, five to thirty feet 

 up. /.>/.'/•'••, three to five, greenish blue, very rarely w ith brownish nuirkiui's, 

 1-14 X -NJ. 



While the few Robins tliat have the courage to winter with us are 

 seeking protection from chilling winds in the depths of friendly ever- 

 greens, their comrades who extended their journey to the south are 

 holding carnival under sunny skies. In Florida, during the winter, 

 Robins may be found in enormous flocks, feeding on tho berries of tho 

 China tree, holly. «n<l mistletoe. Occasionally they give voice to a 

 half-suppressed chorus, as though rehearsing for the approaching 

 season of song. 



Robins migrate in flocks, and the arrival of the advance guard 

 makes the dreariest IMarch diiy seem bright. It is a question whether 

 these pioneers are summer residents or transients en route to a more 

 northern summer home, but in my experience they make the sunny 

 side of some woods their headtiuarters and remain there until paired. 

 They are then in full song, and we see them in tiieir accustomed haunts 

 about our lawns and orihards. 



Toward the last of June the young of the first brood, with the old 

 males, resort in numbers nightly to a roosting place. These roosts are 

 generally in deciduous secniul growths, usually in low, but sometimes 

 on high ground. The females are now o(!cupied with the cares of a 

 second family, and the nuilcs are said Lo return each day to assist them 

 in their duties.* 



♦ See stmliPH of Rollins' roosts, l>y William Brewster, in Auk. x, 1890, pp. 

 3G0 373, anil Bradford Torrey in Tlie Foot-path Way, 1892, pp. I.'J.S-IT.'). 



