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“Т found it most abundant in the woods bordering the streams and creeks of Northern Illinois: 
There it prefers for its breeding-place pieces of woodland containing masses of dense thickets. In 
my native State— Wisconsin—the Wood-Thrush is a somewhat shy bird, which regularly breeds in 
deep forest recesses, but in Northern Illinois it departs considerably from such habits, and although 
not breeding in gardens near to man, І occasionally found nests in woods close to an orchard. In 
the East nests have been repeatedly found in gardens, and my friend Mr. O. Widmann informs me 
that this bird often nests even within the city limits of St. Louis. : 
“Тһе Wood-Thrush rarely appears in its northern home before the middle of May— often some 
days later—at the time when the first flower-buds open upon the apple-trees. It usually remains 
for the first few days after its arrival in dense undergrowth. Were it not for hearing repeatedly the 
far-sounding delightful * Folie’ ог“ Hallowlee, one would hardly know that this famous vocalist 
had returned home again. Besides this common song-like call it utters a low ‘tuck’ or ‘ tack’ 
and a quickly reiterated * tuck tuck tuck tuck,’ which is especially frequent after its arrival and is 
perhaps intended as a love-call to its mate. Only when it sings does it perch on a tree-top and 
pour forth its exquisite song. Usually it selects such a seat at a considerable distance from the 
nest, and returns to it very often. When disturbed it suddenly dives into the underwood. 
« Formerly this Thrush nested very abundantly in the woods along the Calumet and Des Plaines 
River near Chicago. These woods consist mostly of oaks, tall elms, lindens, black walnut and ash 
trees. Dense hawthorn bushes, intertwined with wild grape-vines and virgin's bower (Clematis 
virginica), Juneberry trees, dogwood, elder, black haw, hazel-copses and beautiful wild crab-trees, 
make up the underwood, which stands in clustered masses, forming dense thickets with sunny 
openings here and there. In these rather damp places our vocalist chooses his regular domicile. 
«In their northern habitat these birds commence nest-building usually in the first week in 
June. All the nests I found were from four to six, more rarely as high as fifteen feet from the 
ground. The first and only nest near a human dwelling 1 found June 17th, 1876, at River 
Forest (Illinois), about a quarter of a mile from Des Plaines River. It was placed in a wild crab- 
tree (Pyrus coronaria) growing on the edge of the woods right at the back of an orchard, and was 
about thirteen feet from the ground. АП the other nests discovered by me were more in the depths 
of the woods. In the following year I found the nests particularly numerous in that part of the 
forest (then called Hase's Park) traversed by the Des Plaines River. It was a beautiful piece of 
woodland, since converted into large cemeteries. Here 1 found this Thrush more common than 
ever before, even more abundant than the Robin. Excepting the Cat-bird, the Wood-Thrush was 
here the most frequent nesting species. Ina part of the woods comprising about one and a half acres, 
partly shaded by broad-spreading forest-trees where the thickets were crowded together, I found in 
three hours three nests of this Thrush. Two were іп the immediate neighbourhood of an extensive, 
much tangled thicket, in which there were also two Cat-birds’ and a Black-billed Cuckoo's nest. One 
structure on the east side of the thicket was very near a Cat-bird's nest. It was placed on a small 
tree about five feet from the ground, and contained three eggs. Тһе structure was very loosely built 
of grass-stems, bark-strips and dead leaves ; in the inside of this was placed a cup of black mud 
lined with delicate rootlets and a few grass-blades. It contained three greenish-blue eggs. The 
second nest on the north side of the thicket was hardly fifty steps from the first. It was placed 
in a small hawthorn about six feet from the ground and contained only two eggs. It differed 
but little from the first. The third nest I discovered on the “Indian Mound, a little elevation 
in the woods said to have been a burial-place of the Indians. This nest was situated in à 
dense black haw (Viburnum pruneifolium), about six feet from the ground, and contained four 
uniformly greenish-blue eggs. It was much more carefully constructed than the other two, though 
composed of the same materials. Тһе sitting female was so tame that I almost touched her with 
