54 



KEY AND DESCRIPTION 



6. American Robin (761. MSrida migratdria). — A very com- 

 moB, large, red- or brown-breasted, slate-colored bird, with 

 white on the throat, lower belly, and tips of the outer (under) 



tail feathers. The 

 ^^ head and tail are 

 much blacker than 

 the back. The breast 

 is unspotted except 

 in very young birds. 

 The robin is a noisy 

 bird, but with less 

 powers of song than 

 any other of the 

 American Eotin thrushes. 



Length, 10; wing, l)\ (4J-5|) ; tail, 4[ ; tardus, If ; culmen, |. Eastern 

 North America ; breeding from Virginia northward, and wintering irregu- 

 larly from Canada southward. 



7. Varied Thrush (763. HesperoctcJila ncl'ma). — A large slaty- 

 backed bird with much orange-brown below and on the wings, 

 and a dark collar across the breast. The tail is blackish, 

 and the outer (under) 

 feathers broadly tip- 

 ped with white. This 

 bird is about the size 

 of the robin, belongs 

 to the Pacific coast, 

 but has been seen a 

 few times in the 

 Eastern States (New 

 Jersey, New York, 

 Massachusetts, etc.). 

 (Oregon Robin.) 



Varied Thrush 



8. Wheatear (765. 



Saxkola mndnthe). — A small, northern, light-gray-backed, 

 whitish-bellied bird, with black cheeks and wings. The fore- 



