Nov., 1900] BIRDS OF THE KOTZEBUE SOUND REGION. 63 



a mossy hummock in the northern forest, mesmerized, as it were, by this hypnotizer 

 of the woods. The ordinary call-note or note of warning of both male and female 

 is a low, liquid "quirt." It is heard quite frequently as one walks through the 

 woods, disturbing the thrushes, the sites of whose homes may be nearby. In the 

 Kowak Valley I noticed the first signs of nest-building by the Varied Thrushes 

 on the 25th of May, just four days after their arrival, and by the 28th nearly 

 every pair were busy; for the summer is short, and there is no loitering, as is 

 often the case with our southern birds, after their arrival. The female does all 

 the work of constructing the nest, the male accompanying her constantly in her 

 many trips after material, but, as far as my observations go, never proffering any 

 assistance. Many of the nests are built on those of the previous year as a founda- 

 tion, and I even found three-storied nests. The old nests are flattened and 

 dilapidated by the heavy August rains and winter snows, with the mud mostly 

 dissolved out of them. During the winter a tour of the woods discloses hundreds 

 of old thrushes' nests in various states of preservation, and in some sections nearly 

 every tree harbors one or more. Where well-protected in dense spruces they 

 must survive many years. Probably the same pair of birds return to a single 

 nesting site for several successive seasons, especially if they raise their young 

 there unmolested. I found no evidence of any natural enemies of the Varied 

 Thrushes during the breeding season. The shrikes and small hawks seem to prey 

 mainly on mice and lemmings, with an occasional redpoll. All the nests of the 

 Varied Thrush observed were in spruces, and varied in height above the ground 

 from 6 to 20 feet, the latter being far above the average height, which I should 

 judge to be 10 feet. Even in the tallest timber the nesting .sites are chosen in the 

 lower foliage at a similar elevation. The parent birds are very solicitous about 

 the safety of their homes, and the female especially exhibits great distress when 

 the nest is disturbed. The female performs the entire duty of incubation. At 

 least I never discovered a male bird on the nest. The female sits very close, once 

 remaining on the nest until I had climbed within a yard of her, and in this instance 

 there were as yet no eggs in the nest. While one is near the nest, the female 

 flies wildly around the tree at a short distance, uttering loud squeals and cries, 

 much resembling those of the common robin. The male is less vehement in his 

 protests and follows the movements of the female, but at a longer radius, answer- 

 ing her screams with the ordinary liquid alarm note fre([uently uttered. I often 

 found it an unpleasant task to rob a nest in the face of such unmistakable solicitude 

 and remonstrance, and I would hurriedly leave the vicinity after the deed was 

 done, like some criminal, to escape further contumely. A collector does sometimes 

 feel conscience-smitten, as I am willing to admit. The nest of the Varied Thrush 

 is usually built close to the main trunk of a spruce, often directly against it, and 

 supported by a clump of the stiff, horizontal twigs or small branches. Sometimes 

 the surrounding foliage renders the nest almo.st completely hidden from view. 

 And then again it may be supported by bare, dead branches, affording hardly any 

 screen. The majority of the nests are situated on the south side of the tree-trunks, 

 as probably being the dryest and warmest side, and then, too, strong, cold north 

 winds are of frequent occurrence. All the nests which I examined are very much 

 alike in composition and structure. The foundation is a rather loose and 

 bulky mass of plant stems and dry grasses, but the nest proper is a 



