NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 499 



. ^ ,The wyiosf Tawny Thrush inhabits the lower willowy portions pf-the Rocky 

 Mountain regipn in United States. Habits, nests and eggs are similar to those of 

 Wjlsdn's Thrush. Eggs, ^5x.66. 



757. GBAY-CH££KES THBTJSH. Turdua aliciw Balrd. Geog. Dist.— East- 

 ern North. America, west to the Great Plains, -Alaska, Eastern Siberia north to the 

 Arctic coast, In winter south to Costa' Rica. 



The Gray-cheeked Tljrush breeds from Libra,dor and Hudson Bay north to th« 

 Arctic coast and the coast of BeringSea; it haS been found breeding abundantly 

 in the Mackenzie River region and on ib'e Anderson Riven. The nests were found, 

 with all but few exceptions, on the branches' ot loy^ trees, from two to seven feet 

 from the ground. In a few exceptional cases they were built on the ground. They 

 are usually compacf, and composed of an elaborate Interweaving of fine sedg^, 

 leaves, stems, dry grasses, strips of fine bark and lined with fine grasses. Occasion-* 

 ally nests are found constructed with mud, iik& those of the common Robin. The 

 eggs are usually four in number, and are greenish-blue, marked 'with spots of russet 

 and yellowish-brown. Captain B. F. Goss has,two eggs of th'is species, taken by Mr. 

 R. R. MacFarlane, at. Fort Anderson, Arctic America. The nest from which these 

 were taken was placed in a low tree. The eggs are greenish-rblue, . faintly marked 

 over the entire surface with, reddish-brown. Their sizes are .91x.71, .91x.72. 



757a. BICKITEIiL'S THRUSH. Turdus alieiw- bicknelli (Ri'dgw.) Geog. Dist. — 

 In summer, higher mountains of Northeastern tTnited States (Catskills, 'White Moun- 

 tains, etc.), and Nova Scotia. 'Winter home unknown. 



This Thrush, recently identified in the Catskill and 'White Mountains, and named 

 in honor of its discoverer, Mr. Eugene P. Bicknell, was found breeding by the Rev. 

 J. H. Langille, on Mud and Seal Islands, out at sea off the coast of Nova Scotia and 

 westward from the city of Yarmouth. These are almost entirely covered with a low 

 growth of evergreens — black spruce and balsam fir^ Except the Robin, Song Sparrow, 

 Snowbird, a few Redstarts and 'Winter 'Wrens, almost the only small land-birds 

 breeding here are the Black-poll 'Warbler and Blcknell's Thrush — the last two being 

 Tery abundant. Mr. Langille says that its song is similar in tone to that of 'Wilson's 

 Thrush, but more slender and wiry, and therefore not nearly so grand and musical. 

 The birds were found nesting in almost inipenetrable evergreen thickets, beneath 

 which there is a dense carpet of moss. The nests were all nearly alike in location, 

 structure and materials; placed a few feet from the ground, against the trunk of an 

 evergreen tree. They were composed of various kinds of mosses, a few fine sticks, 

 weed-stems and rootlets, and were lined with fine bleached grasses. The nest on the 

 outside was as green as a bunch of fresh moss. The eggs were of a light bluish- 

 green speckled with brown; size, .87x.63,* 



758. RUSSET-BACKED THRUSH. Turdus ustulatus (Nutt.) Geog. Dist.— 

 Pacific coast region, north to Sitka; south, in winter, through 'Western Mexico, to 

 Northern Central America. 



The Russet-backed Thrush is a common species in suitable localities along the 

 Pacific coast of California and northward .Mr. A. W. Anthony states that it is not 

 an uncommon summer resident of 'Washington county, Oregon. The bird frequents 



• Our Birds In Their Haunts: A Popular Treatise on the Birds of Eastern North 

 America. By Rev. Hlbbert Langille, M. A. Boston: S. E. Casslno & Co. 1884. Pp. 511-S|13. 



