TURDIDiE, THRUSHES. GEN. 1. 73 



3^-4, tail 2f-3. North Americii, except perhaps south-west U. S. Nest in 

 bushes ; eggs speclded. Wils., v, pi. 45, f. 2, but not his description on p. 

 95; Bd., 216 swAiNSONi. 



Yaw alicke. Alice's Thrush. Similar; bat without any huffy tint about head, 

 nor yellowish ring around eye ; averaging a trifle larger, with longer, slenderer bill. 

 Much the same distribution, but breeds further north. Nest and eggs siinilar. 

 Bd., 217, and Eev. 21. 



Var. ustulatiis. Similar ; but with the upper parts slightly suifased with 

 tawny, and the spots below smaller, fewer and paler ; thus approximating to the 

 following species. Nest and eggs, however, as in swainsoiti. Pacific Coast, U. S. 

 NuTT., 2d ed. i, 400 ; Bd., 215 ; Coop., .5. 



— i--i- Upper parts tawny. 

 )rt |) Wilson's Thrush. Veery. Under parts white, with olive shade on sides, 

 and strong fulvous (almost pinkish-brown) tint on breast ; breast and sides 

 of neck with very small, sparse, sometimes indistinct dusky spots. 7-7J 

 long; wing 4-4J, tail 3^. Eastern N. Am. Nest built on the ground; 

 eggs plain. Wils., v, 98, pi. 43; Nutt., i, 349; Aud., iii, 27, pi. 145; 

 Bd. 214 ruscESCENS. 



Subfamily MUflNuE. Mocldng Thrushes. 



Distinguished from the last \)j having the tarsus scutcllate in front, the tail 

 longer and rounder (usually longer than the wings, but not so in Oreosco2Jtes) , the 

 wings shorter and rounder, with 1st p'rimary hardly to be called spurious. Birds 

 very much like overgrown wrens (with which they used to be associated), but dis- 

 tinguished therefrom by more deeply cleft toes, different nostrils, and bristly rictus 

 (compare diagnoses of the tvfo families). The 

 hill is usually longer, or at least slenderer, and 

 more curved than in the typical thrushes : in 

 some species of Ilarporhynclius it attains ex- 

 traordinary length and curvature. As a group 

 they are rather southern, hardlj^ passing be- 

 yond the United States ; and attaining their 

 maximum de^'elopment in Central and South 

 America. The Miminai may be properly re- 

 stricted to these American birds, represented ^""'i'- Bills of iian,o,%,.c/a- ,■ natarai size, 

 by the genera Mimus, Harporhynclms, and five or six other closely related forms. 

 Upwards of forty species are recorded, about two-thirds of which are certainly 

 genuine. About one-half of the current species fall in the genus Mimus alone ; of 

 Harporhynchus, all but one of the known species occur within our own limits. In 

 their general habits they resemble the true thrushes ; but they habitually reside 

 nearer the ground, relying for self-preservation more upon the concealment of the 

 shrubbery, than upon their own activity and vigilance. They are all melodious, 

 and some, like the mockingbird, arc celebrated songsters, famous for their powers 

 of mimicry, and their brilliant vocal execution. In compensation, perhaps, for this 

 great gift, they are plainly clad, graj^s and browns being the prevailing colors. The 

 nest is generally placed in a bush ; the eggs, four or five in number, are greenish- 

 blue, plain or speckled. 



KEY TO N. A. BIRDS. 10 



