THRUSHES 351 



shrubs. It has a preference for oaks, and lives much in the 

 upper branches of the trees. It is a very active bird and has a 

 quick, jerky flight, the tail, especially, being constantly in 

 motion. Its call note is compared by Chapman to the twang 

 of a banjo string and in addition the bird utters a variety of 

 rather squeaky, high-pitched notes, none of which are very 

 loud. Its song, said to be a finished performance, is uttered 

 so softly that it attracts little attention. The nest is a beauti- 

 ful structure, compactly made of plant down, dried blossoms, 

 fine grasses, etc., bound together with spider's webs and orna- 

 mented on the outside with grayish colored lichens. It is gen- 

 erally saddled on a horizontal limb, preferably of an oak, some- 

 times in the fork of a branch, from 12 to 50 feet above the 

 ground. 



Food habits. — Judd examined three stomachs of this species 

 and found in them "longicorn beetles, joint-worm flies, caddis- 

 flies and several minute flies (unidentified Diptera)."* The 

 bird is also known to eat ants and other Hymenoptera, weevils, 

 bugs, caterpillars, and spiders. Dr. Avery observed it, in 

 September, 1889, feeding on cotton leaf worms. Vegetable 

 food is rarely taken and the bird is considered a decidedly 

 useful species. 



THRUSHES. BLUEBIRDS, ETC.: Family Turdidae. 

 WOOD THRUSH: Hylocichla mustelina (Gmelin). 



State records. — The wood thrush is an abundant summer 

 resident in all parts of the State, except on the coastal islands. 

 The earliest migrants in spring arrive usually about the first 

 of April. The first were seen at Woodbine, March 25 (1908) ; 

 Autaugaville, March 31 (1913) ; Sand Mountain (near Car- 

 penter), March 31 (1914) ; Greensboro, April 4 (1888), and 

 March 26 (1891) ; Tuscaloosa, April 6 (1912) ; Leighton, 

 April 8 (1891) ; and Anniston, April 9 (1916) . The bird was 

 seen in fall at Leighton as late as September 23 (1889), and 

 at Castleberry, October 10 (1908). Nests with eggs were 

 found at Barachias, April 24 ; Booth, April 27 ; HoUins, April 

 28; York, April 30; and Leighton, May 10, June 27, and 

 July 11. 



»Judd, S. D., Biol. Surv. Bull. 17, p. 108, 1902. 



