HERMIT THRUSH. 29 



Wilson's Thrush or Veery, Turdus Wilsonii, Nutt. Man., vol. i. p. 349. 

 Tawny Thrush, Turdus Wilsonii, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. ii. p. 362; vol. v. p. 446. 



Male. 



"Wings with the third quill largest, the fourth scarcely shorter, and slightly- 

 exceeding the second. Upper parts uniform light reddish-brown, a little 

 deeper on the head; quill and tail-coverts light olive-brown, the outer webs 

 of the former like the back; lower parts greyish-white, the sides and lower 

 part of the neck, and a small portion of the breast tinged with pale yellowish- 

 brown, and marked with small faint and undecided triangular brown spots. 

 Female an inch less in length than the male, but otherwise similar. 



Male, 7 T 2 2, 12. 



HERMIT THRUSH. 



: Turdus solitarius, Wils. 

 PLATE CXLVI Male and Female. 



This, kind reader, is another constant resident in the Southern States, 

 more especially those of Mississippi and Louisiana, where it abounds during 

 the winter months, and is found in considerable numbers during spring and 

 summer. In the lower parts of Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee, it is also 

 observed during spring and summer; but it becomes scarcer as you advance 

 towards the Middle Districts, where a few are occasionally seen about the 

 low woodlands of the Atlantic shores. 



Except during winter, this Thrush prefers the darkest, most swampy, and 

 most secluded cane-brakes along the margins of the Mississippi, where it 

 breeds and spends the summer, retiring to higher lands during the jseriod 

 when the alluvial grounds are covered with the water which, during freshets, 

 generally inundates these low cane-brakes and swampy retreats. 



The flight of the Hermit Thrush is performed low over the ground, and 

 in a gliding manner, as the bird shifts from one place to another at a short 

 distance. In this respect, it differs greatly from its relative, my great 

 favourite, the Wood Thrush, the flight of which is more protracted, and is 

 performed at a greater elevation. 



Vol. III. 5 



