OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. 137 



at Pelham on the Massachusests line the hermits outnumber the wood thrushes, 

 while at Manchester, twenty miles further north, the latter, as noted above, are the 

 more numerous. It is stated on good authority that at Dover, which is in the 

 same latitude as Concord, the wood thrush is unknown. The species has been 

 reported from Lake Winnipesauke, but as yet without sufficient verification. Stud- 

 ies of the distribution of- the wood thrush in southern and central New Hampshire 

 will well repay those who shall undertake them. 



756. Hylocichla f uscesceiis ( 5/^//^) 



Wilson's Thrush. Veery. 



Common summer resident. 



758a. Hylociclila ustulata swainsoiii ( C<^(^.) 



Olive-backed Thrush. 



Common transient visitant. 



Very abundant in the spring and fall migrations, arriving at Manchester about 

 May i6th, a week after the wood thrush, and tarrying till about June 4th. In 

 1899 a pair took up their temporary residence for more than two weeks in a city 

 garden well supplied with closely trimmed evergreens. During the last two days, 

 June 1st and 2d, the male was in full song. The song is described as being rich, 

 full and very sweet, with a penetrating, vibrant quality, and in form very like the 

 first six notes of Handel's air, " O had I JubaPs lyre." It is suspected that the 

 species may breed not far to the northward of Manchester, possibly in the im- 

 mediate vicinity. 



759b. Hylociclila aonalasclikae pallasil ( 6^<^.) 



Hermit Thrush. 



Common summer resident. 



This species, as noted above under " Wood Thrush," (q. v.) is irregularly dis- 

 tributed over our area with little apparent relation to latitude. The hermit thrush 

 being abundant in some of the southern towns and the wood thrush being not 

 rare as far north as Concord it is evident that the southerly range of the former 

 and the northerly range of the latter overlap at least forty miles in the vicinity of 

 the Merrimack valley. The earliest spring arrivals usually appear between the 

 14th and 1 6th of April, though individuals have been recorded as early as the 4th. 

 The males are sometimes in full song by the 23d. 



As migrants the hermits far outnumber the other thrushes, being especially 

 numerous in fall, when they visit cultivated fields and gardens and mingle freely 

 with birds of other species, even with the despised house sparrows. They are 

 very friendly with the robins, as if recognizing their close relationship. With the 

 sparrows they are on their dignity, driving them off with a considerable show of 

 spitefulness when they become too numerous for comfort. After November ist 

 they rapidly diminish and soon disappear. 



