BIRDS OF NEW YORK 525 



Hermit thrush, as the latter is slightly more abundant in the swamps 

 and lower altitudes. It also breeds sparingly on the highest mountains 

 near the Pennsylvania border where the altitude surpasses 3000 feet and 

 has been reported from several of the colder gullies and swamps of western 

 New York; but I have never found it breeding in these localities and think 

 it possible that most of these reports that come to us are due to error, 

 as they are all based on the eggs which were considered certainly those 

 of the Olive-backed thrush because they were spotted, but they probably 

 were spotted eggs of the Veery. During the migration season this is one 

 of the most abundant thrushes about our shrubbery and shade trees and 

 woodlands both of southeastern New York and the central and western 

 portion of the State, arriving from the 9th to the 15th of May and passing 

 northward from the i8th to the 31st of the month. A few spring dates 

 as early as May 2 have come to my attention. In the fall it appears 

 between the loth and 20th of September and is last seen between the loth 

 and 22d of October. 



Haunts and habits. During the migration, this species is not so shy 

 as the Gray-cheeked thrush and is often seen hopping about the lawns 

 or sitting unconcernedly in our shade trees. When flying about or dis- 

 turbed it utters a subdued plup or whit, and occasionally a high-pitched 

 note of alarm like the syllable puk. In its breeding grounds it utters an 

 alarm note which I never heard during the migrations. It has been written 

 chee-urr, chee-urr, the second syllable being especially harsh and strongly 

 accented. The song of the Olive-back is frequently heard during th^ 

 migration time and reminds one forcibly of the Veery' s song. It is spon- 

 taneous and lyrical. Bicknell's description states, " The first note is 

 loudest and most liquid, after which the melody becomes rapidly fainter, 

 seeming to dissolve upon the ear like the spent vibrations of a stringed 

 instrument." Hoffman describes the song as like a Veery's inverted, 

 going up instead of down the scale, but throatier, more gurgling, inferior 

 in purity, richness and suggestiveness. My impressions of the Olive-back, 

 as heard in the Ausable swamp in the Adirondacks, were more favorable 



