THRUSHES 355 



and rubbish for its food. Save for an occasional low chuck, 

 the bird is for the most part silent during its stay in the 

 South. 



Food habits.— The food of this species has been found to 

 consist of about three-fourths animal matter and one-fourth 

 vegetable. Beetles composed about a third of the total food; 

 ants, wasps, bees, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and spiders made 

 up most of the remainder of the animal food. Wild fruit com- 

 prised the bulk of the vegetable food, 18 different varieties 

 having been found in the stomachs examined.* 



BICKNELL THRUSH : Hylocichla minima minima 

 (Lafresnaye) .f 

 State records. — The smaller form of the gray-cheeked 

 thrush, the Bicknell, was found in some numbers in autumn 

 at Greensboro by Dr. AveryJ and doubtless occurs, also, in 

 spring. There are five specimens in the Avery collection, 

 taken September 17 and October 1, 1890; September 19 and 

 25, 1891; and September 20, 1893. 



OLIVE-BACKED THRUSH: Hylocichla ustuLata swainsoni 



(Tschudi). 



State records. — The olive-backed thrush occurs as a mi- 

 grant, rather rarely in spring, but commonly in autumn. 

 McCormack observed it at Leighton from May 1 to 7, 1890, 

 and once on September 14, 1891. Avery took specimens at 

 Greensboro, May 3, 1893, September 3, 9, 17, 22 and 30, and 

 October 1 and 2, 1890; and Dean noted the species at Annis- 

 ton, October 8 and 15, 1916. One specimen was taken by 

 Saunders at Woodbine, April 11, 1908. Dean records the first 

 seen at Anniston, April 23, 1916. I saw several near Mont- 

 gomery, May 7, 1911 ; others at Florence, May 4 and 7, 1912 ; 

 Muscle Shoals, April 23 and 25, 1914; and on Sipsey Fork, 

 near Mellville, May 1 and 4, 1914. Holt took specimens at 

 Barachias, April and May 2, 1913.** 



General habits. — The olive-back has much the same habits 

 as the other migrant thrushes — the veery and the gray- 



•Beal, p. E. L., Bull. 280. U. S. Dept. Aer., pp. 11-13, 191B. 



tHyloeichla alicUe bieknclli of the A. O. U. Check-list; for change of name see The 

 Auk, vol. 37, p. 284, 1920. 



tAvery, W. C, Amer. Field, vol. SB, p. BB, 1891. 

 ••Golsan and Holt, The Ank, vol. 81, p. 238, 1914. 



