VARIED THRUSH. 35 
species was originally described both by Latham and by Pennant, and figured by the 
latter. ‘VARIED THRUSH and SpoTrEeD THRUSH were the names bestowed by these writers, 
upon whose accounts Gmelin, in 1788, based his Turdus naevius. In 1831, Swainson 
figured and accurately described the species under the name of Orpheus meruloides, given, 
however, in opposition to the prime rule of nomenclature, for no better reason than 
that such designation appeared to him to be more expressive. These two terms are the 
only ones to be found in current quotations; a third, however, is to be added; for 
Pallas received from Kadiak, through his friend Billings, specimens of the same species, 
to which he applied the name of Turdus auroreus. That he had no other bird in view 
will be evident upon consideration of the description given in the Zoographia Russo- 
Asiatica, all the terms of that account being in strictness applicable to the female or 
immature male, in which the black pectoral collar is incomplete.”” (Dr.'E. Coues.) 
None of these naturalists could give any reliable account of the bird’s mode of life 
and its breeding habits. Nuttall and Townsend were the first to form its closer acquaint: 
ance. The former observed that it reached the Columbia River in October, and remained 
in some numbers during the winter. ‘At this time,’ he writes, ‘‘they flit through the 
forest in small flocks, frequenting usually low trees, on which they perch in perfect 
silence, and are at times very timorous and difficult to approach, having all the shy 
sagacity of the Robin.” In May they again journeyed northward. According to 
Townsend the song of the Varied Thrush is different from that of the Robin, being 
louder, sharper, and quicker, and he alludes to a pleasant song which the bird utters 
in the spring, just before it sets out, and on its northern journey. 
In Washington, according to Dr. Cooper, the Varied Thrush, or Western Robin, is 
common during winter, and he thinks that a few remain near the coast all summer, as 
he has seen them in the dark spruce forests in June and July. They are much more shy 
and retiring than the Robin, and differ very much in their song, which consists only of 
five or six notes in a minor key, and in a scale regularly descending; they are commonly 
heard in the tops of the trees, and in summer only in the densest of forests. In winter 
they associate with the Robins, and feed much on the ground, sometimes approaching 
houses in cold weather. Dr. Suckley observed this Thrush in Oregon and Washington 
and seems to have had excellent opportunities of studying its habits. He writes as 
follows: “In winter it is a shy bird, not generally becoming noticeable in the open 
districts until after a fall of snow, when many individuals may be seen along the sand 
beaches near salt water. They are at such times tame and abundant, at least sufficiently 
so for any ordinary shot to obtain a dozen specimens in a forenoon. I suppose that 
they are driven out of the woods during the heavy snows by hunger. It may then 
frequently be found in company with the common Robin, with which it has many 
similar habits..... At this time of the year it is a very silent bird, quite tame, allow- 
ing near approach; flying up when the intruder comes too near, but alighting on the 
ground again a short distance in front. It appears to be fond of flying by short stages 
in a desultory manner, sometimes alighting on the ground, at others on fences, bushes, 
or trees. The settlers here (at Port Townsend) call them Spotted, Painted, and Golden 
Robins. The most conspicuous mark on the bird which strikes the eve at first is the 
black crescent on the fore part of the breast.” 
