502 NESTS AND EGGS OF 



The Hermit Thrush or "Ground Swamp Robin," breeds from the Northern United 

 States northward. It is common in the northern portions of New England in sum- 

 mer, and in Maine, where it is abundant, it begins to breed during the last week ot 

 May. It is common in Nova Scotia and in New Brunswick, and begins to build 

 about the middle of May. Dr. Frank W. Langdon states on the authority of Mr. 

 Chas. Dury, that the nest and eggs of the Hermit Thrush have been taken near Cin- 

 cinnati, Ohio, May 10, 1877. The bird probably breeds in Northern Ohio and other 

 parts of the State. It has been observed nesting in Michigan, a nest being recorded 

 by Dr. Morris Glbbs as taken by W. A. Gunn in Montcalm county, May 15, 1879. 

 Nuttall says that the song of the Hermit Thrush "seems to be unusually lively and 

 varied, warbling almost like the Yellow Bird, and then chanting like the Robin." 

 This charming writer, in speaking of the marshy places which this bird inhabits, 

 beautifully says: "In these almost Stygian regions which, besides being cool, abound 

 probably with its favorite insect food, we are nearly sure to meet our sweetly vocal 

 hermit flitting through the settled gloom, which the brightest rays of noon scarcely 

 illumine with more than twilight. The nest, like that of Wilson's Thrusa, is built 

 on the ground or very near it, in some low, secluded spot, generally beneath the 

 shelter of dense shrubbery. It is rather bulky, and loosely made of leaves, shreds 

 of bark, grasses, mosses, and lined with similar but finer material. The eggs are 

 usually four, often only three, of greenish-blue, unspotted, and average .86x.65. 



[760.] RED- WINGED THRUSH. Turdus illacus Linn. Geog. Dist.— North- 

 ern portions of Europe and Asia; accidental in Greenland. 



The Red-winged Thrush of Europe claims a place in the avifauna of North 

 America from its accidental occurrence in Greenland. - During the breeding season 

 it is found In the more northern portions of Europe, only occasionally breeding as far 

 south as England. Breeds in the wooded districts of Norway and Sweden. It has 

 been found nesting in the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Northern Russia. In the winter 

 the Redwing extends its migrations to the more southern portions of Europe — Sicily, 

 Malta, and even Smyrna. The nest of this species is usually placed in the center of 

 a thorn bush or small tree, and is made of moss, roots, and dry grasses outwardly, 

 cemented together with clay, and lined inwardly with finer grass. The external 

 diameter averages about five inches by three deep; the cavity is three in diameter 

 by about two deep. The eggs range from four to six in number, pale bluish-green 

 or olive-greenisji, speckled and spotted with reddish-brown. Their average size is 

 1.04X.75. 



761. AMERICAN ROBIN. Merula rhigratoria (Linn.) Geog. Dist.— Eastern 

 and Northern North America (Hudson Bay region to Alaska); west to the Great 

 Plains, of occasional occurrence in Eastern Mexico. ' 



During the summer months this familiar bird has an extensive range, breeding 

 as it does from near the southern border of the United States northward to the 

 Arctic coast. The nest is saddled on a horizontal branch or built in the crotch of 

 trees of almost any kind, and it is commonly placed on the top rail of a fence, often on. 

 stumps, and, in fact, in all sorts of curious places, even in bird boxes. Orchards and 

 the shade trees along streets are favorite nesting sites. The nest is a large, coarse 

 structure, made of twigs, roots, stems, grasses, dry leaves, hair and wool. It is 

 strengthened by a neatly-made cup of clay or mud, which is surrounded by these 

 materials. The typical set of eggs is four, rarely five. They are greenish-blue, un- 

 spotted. Very rarely, however, speckled with brown. Average size, 1.16x.80. 



