TARUSAES. 
Turdidae. 
mez ase 
= Sass g BS ERE an artist required to paint on his canvas a bird of most har- 
‘ ris monious proportions throughout, he would be compelled to re- 
3 i -° present more or less closely the form of a Thrush. This bird seems 
» to me to be in every respect what a philosopher would call ‘‘the 
bird as such.” What leads me to this conclusion is the faét that 
the beak of the Thrush is neither long nor short, neither thick 
nor thin, neither straight nor much curved. The forehead is neither retreating 
nor very high; the whole head, the eyes, neck, body, wings, legs, claws, and 
tail, all are of average proportions and uniformly developed. Hence these fine 
" birds justly rank first in our book. 
The Thrushes may be regarded as true cosmopolitans, for every part of the 
world has some species. The group is represented by the greatest number of 
forms in the northern temperate zone, but some species occur even in the tropics. 
Thrushes inhabit both the depths of the forest and the haunts of man. They build 
both in foliage trees and in pine woods, ascend motintains, and abound in the lowlands. 
The true home of our native species is in the Northern States;—it is here that they 
pour forth their jubilant songs, here too they breed. The Robin and Wood Thrush go 
farthest south, occurring abundantly in the mountains of South Carolina and spreading 
thence to Arkansas. None of our true Thrushes extend any farther south during the 
breeding season. 
In color, too, the Thrushes exhibit pleasing harmony. Their modest suits, usually 
gray and brown, are relieved by brighter colors (chestnut-brown, black, white, or yellow). 
Thrush pattern has even become a technical term. Thrushes cannot be called either 
large or very small birds—in this respect they maintain the average. They are all, 
without exception, powerful and persevering in their flight, flit skilfully through the 
tangled branches of the trees and are not in the least awkward on the ground to which 
they very often descend. They hop about on the surface in long separate bounds. 
When anything unusual strikes their sight, they quickly jerk their tails and at the same 
