86 
on the ground again a short distance in front. It appears to be fond of flying by short stages in a 
desultory manner, sometimes alighting on the ground, at others on fences, bushes, or trees." 
Mr. І. Belding writes :— Its alarm-note is a short ‘ chook, its call a prolonged, nearly 
and I have heard it sing sweetly about March 1st. І once mistook its 
monotonous ‘chee’ or ‘ yee, 
` ” 
ugh the bird was not far from me. 
call for the bleating of a distant lamb, altho JE 
Тһе following note on the habits of the species in Northern California is given by Mr. C. H. 
« T first saw the Varied Thrush while “а hunting of the deer "along the Lower McCloud 
River early in November, 1883, often finding it loitering under the low shrubbery and among the 
here the sunlight could not penetrate. In 
fallen tree-trunks in the deepest and wildest cations w 
such quiet places I used to rest sometimes when making a long round, and the stillness would often 
be broken by a note of alarm from this bird when it had discovered so unusual an apparition as a 
human being in its secluded retreats. It would fly into some pine near by and earnestly regard the 
motionless forms of the hunter and his dog, and if given no further cause for alarm, would remain in 
the vicinity quietly continuing the inspection from various points of view." 
-habits of the species are summarized by Mr. E. W. Nelson :—‘ Dall secured a nest 
29, 1867, and states that the birds arrive there about 
e found its nests along the Yukon to 
Townsend :— 
Тһе nesting 
and two eggs of this bird near Nulato, May 
May 15, and frequent the vicinity of the smaller streams. Н 
Fort Yukon and near Nulato. 
“ According to this observer, the Varied Thrush was not very common at Nulato, nor, according 
to the information 1 have been able to secure, is it numerous anywhere in the northern portion 
of the Territory, though generally distributed and of regular occurrence. A few pairs breed every 
summer in the alder and willow thickets about the shores of Norton Sound, and a single specimen 
was brought to me from latitude 68”, north of Kotzebue Sound. I had no opportunity of observing 
the little-known habits of this interesting species, but learned that it generally arrives before the 
ground is free from snow, during the middle and last of May, and leaves before the cold storms 
of autumn commence. The nest found by Dall was built in the midst of a large heap of rubbish 
in a group of willows, about 2 feet above the ground, and close to the river-bank. The eggs 
were bluish, speckled with brown." 
Adult male. General colour above slaty-grey, darker on the head; lores black like the ear- 
coverts; a broad eye-stripe orange-chestnut, extending to the nape, but not in front of the eye; 
lesser wing-coverts slaty-grey; median wing-coverts black, with large fan-shaped, terminal spots 
of orange-buff; greater wing-coverts slaty-grey, with large spots of orange-buff; primary-coverts 
dark brown, with an ashy mark in the middle of the outer webs; inner secondaries brown, with 
ashy-buff margins to the outer webs and obscure pale tips; primaries and secondaries brown, with 
some orange-buff on the margins, and with orange-buff bases to the outer webs of the primaries; 
tail brown, suffused with slaty-grey on both webs of the central feathers, the others externally 
edged with slaty-grey ; at the ends of the tail-feathers a small spot of white, with a terminal wedge 
on the external feather, about half an inch in length ; feathers below the eye and ear-coverts black 
to the sides of the neck. 
Under surface of body deep orange-chestnut, with a broad black collar across the fore-neck; 
sides of body with crescentic grey marks; flanks slightly tinged with grey; abdomen white ; under 
tail-coverts white, with dusky-brown bases and lateral margins of orange-buff; axillares pale 
slaty-grey, with white bases; lower primary-coverts slaty-grey; lower secondary-coverts white, 
with slaty-grey bases. 
Geocichline markings on the inner webs of the quills, white. 
Adult female. Different from the male, and lacks the black gorget, which is replaced by a more 
or less distinct band of pale grey, which is plainer in the breeding-plumage. The slaty-grey upper 
