TURDIDiE, THRUSHES. GEN. 1. 



71 



assigned to the thrnslies. But only a part of the thrushes themselves show this 

 character ; on which account, probablj', the rest were associated by Cabanis with 

 the wrens. It seems to me most probable that this character, though unques- 

 tionably of high import, should be taken as of less value than the reduction of the 

 number of primaries from ten to nine ; and I am at present inclined to believe that 

 eventually some Oscine family with only nine primaries — as the finches or tanagers 

 — will take the leading position. Here, however, I follow usage. 



Family TURDID-ffi. Thrushes. 



The oval nostrils are nearly or quite reached, but not covered, bj' feathers. 

 There arc bristles in all our genera about the rictus and base of upper mandible. 

 The toes are deeply cleft, the inner one almost to its very base, the outer to the 

 end of its basal joint. The bill is not conical, nor deeply fissured, and usually has 

 a slight notch near the tip. There are 12 tail-feathers (in all our forms), and 

 10 primaries, of which the 1st is short or spurious, and the 2d is shorter than the 

 4th. Oar two subfamilies are sharply defined by the character of the tarsus. 



Subfamily TUEDIN^E. Typical Thrushes. 

 With the tarsus, in the adult, enveloped in one continuous plate, or "boot," 

 formed by fusion of all the scutella except two or three just above the toes. Thus 

 easily distinguished ; for our few other birds that show this feature are ver}' differ- 

 ent in other respects. The 1st quill is spurious or very short ; the 2d is longer 

 than the Gth ; the 4th toe is longer than the 2d. Upwards of one hundred and 

 fift}^ recorded species are now usually assigned to the Turdinm proper, most of 

 them being referable to the single genus Turdus with its subgenera. They arc 

 nearly cosmopolitan, and have a great development in the warmer parts of 

 America, where the subfamily is, however, mainlj'' represented by types closely 

 allied to Turdus proper ; more aberrant forms, constituting very distinct genera, 

 occur in the old world. We have but one genus in the United States, of which the 

 robin is the most familiar example, though several other species are common and 

 well known birds. These are difflised over all the woodland parts of our countrj', 

 and are all strictly migrator^'. The}'' are insectivorous, but like manj^ other insect- 

 eating birds, feed much upon berries and other soft fruits. Although not truly 

 gregarious, some, as the robin for instance, often collect in troops at favorite feed- 

 ing places, or migrate in companies. They build rather rude nests, often plastered 

 with mud, never pensile, but saddled on a 

 bough, or fixed in a forked branch, or on 

 the ground ; and lay 4-6 greenish or 

 bluish eggs, sometimes plain, sometimes 

 spotted. The}' are all vocal, and some, 

 like the woodthrush, are exquisitely melo- 

 dious. 



1. Genus TURDUS Linnaeus. 



*Not spotted nor banded below ; throat 

 streaked. (Subgenus Planesticus.) j-ig. is. Robin 



I Robin. Dark olive-gray, head and tail blackish; below reddisb-bvowii, 

 throat blacli and white, imder tail coverts and crissum white with darlc marks. 



