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1879.] Notes on the Thrushes of Washington Territory. 629 
NOTES ON THE THRUSHES OF WASHINGTON TER- 
RIT 
BY 5. K. LUM. 
o rane the number of species and varieties of the Tur- 
didæ of the north-west coast is few, yet the number of indi- 
viduals is great. The genus Turdus is here well represented by 
four species and varieties, viz: T. migratorius, T. nevius, T. pal- 
lasi var. nanus and T. swainsoni var. ustulatus. These, with Town- 
send’s flycatching thrush (Mytadestes townsendi), comprise the list 
that I have observed in Western Washington Territory during a 
residence of twenty-five years, never having met with even a 
straggler of the genera Mimus or Harporhynchus. I am aware 
that the cat-bird (M. carolinensis) has been accredited a place in 
our avifauna (See Coues’ Key to N. A. Birds, and Birds of the 
Colorado valley). Cooper speaks of it as found in the Cœur 
d’Alene mountains, and others as observed in Eastern Wash- 
ington. 
I have traveled extensively in Eastern Oregon and Washington 
without having met with a single specimen of this bird. There 
is a bird here, the towhee bunting (Pipilo erythrophthalmus var. 
oregonus) that utters a cry similar to that of the cat-bird, and, from 
the sound, might easily be mistaken for the latter bird. If found in 
Western Washington at all, it is as the veriest straggler, or I 
should certainly ere this have recognized my old acquaintance. 
Townsend’s flycatching thrush arrives here in March and 
remains until June. Their general appearance and habits are 
more those of a flycatcher than of a thrush. They may be seen 
perched upon the dry limb of a tree like the flycatchers, watch- 
ing for insects, making sallies out after them and then returning 
to the perch. 
During these times they now and then utter a loud, clear note, 
_ resembling the word “ brevier,” the accent on the last syllable. I 
have never heard the song spoken of by others, and so far as I 
know, they do not breed in this section. I have seen the young 
birds in their spotted plumage in the Sierra Nevada mountains of 
California. 
The robin is extremely abundant, a few remaining during the 
winter, the majority passing further south; they breed here in 
great numbers, the nest being not unlike that of their eastern 
~~ relatives, 
