Plate 11. 



TURDUS MUSTEU/V US-Wood Thrush. 



The Wood Thrush arrives in Central Ohio about the middle of April, and nidification begins as 



early as the last week in May: from this time until July, nests with fresh eggs may be found. The 



late nests either belong to birds that are raising a second brood, or to those that have had their earlier 

 hopes destroyed by accident. 



LOCALITY: 



The scraggy haws, stunted elms, or other low trees, in damp thick woods, furnish their faA^orite nest- 

 ing places, but occasionally these are deserted for the more cultivated fields and shrubs, such as orchards 

 and ornamental trees, in gardens or along the roadside. 



POSITIO:^: 



The nest is either saddled upon a horizontal branch or placed in a fork. It is never far above the 

 ground, and is usually Avithin easy reach. 



MATERIALS : 



The foundation consists of old leaves in greater or lesser quantities; occasionally, however, they are 

 entirely absent, coarse grasses supplying their place. 



The bulk of the nest is composed of dried grasses, weed stems, fibres and rootlets, rarely sticks and 

 moss. These are firmly held in position by a plastering, composed of bits of rotten wood, fibres and 

 mud; frequently the wood is in such minute pieces and incorporated so thoroughly with the mud that 

 the i^lastering has the appearance of a coarse piece of wra2')ping paper. When dry it has very little 

 strength, and crumbles under slight pressure into fine powder. 



This ''mud" is sparingly used, just enough being employed to give form and solidity to the 

 structure. The lining is artistically done, with dark pinkish-brown or blackish rootlets and leaf stems, 

 sometimes a few horse hairs. The plastering may be completely concealed, by this covering, but usually 

 it is distinctly visible. The lining is thickest at the bottom and top, and extends over the rim and 

 down the outside a quarter of an inch or more. The nest as a whole is neat and handsome, and 

 measures, inside diameter, from two and three-fourths to three and one-half inches ; inside depth, one 

 and one-half to two and one-half inches. 



EGGS: 



The number of each set is from three to five. Oviposition begins in from one to six days after 

 the completion of the nest. Authorities state that the eggs are deposited daily, but according to our 

 observation there is no regularity in the matter, the eggs may be deposited every day, or only one 

 in every three or four days ; the temperature of the atmosphere has probably much influence. 



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