WOOD THRUSH. 



23 



and the iris of a dark chocolate colour ; the inside of the mouth 

 is yellow. The male and female of this species, as, indeed, of 

 almost the whole genus of thrushes, differ so little, as scarcely 

 to be distinguished from each other. It is called by some the 

 wood robin, by others the ground robin, and by some of 

 our American ornithologists Turdus minor, though, as will 

 hereafter appear, improperly. The present name has been 

 adopted from Mr William Bartram, who seems to have been 

 the first and almost only naturalist who has taken notice of 

 the merits of this bird* 



* Almost every country has its peculiar and favourite songsters, and 

 even among the rudest nations the cries and songs of birds are listened 

 to, and associated with their general occupations, their superstitions, or 

 religion. In America, the wood thrush appears to hold a rank equal to 

 the nightingale and song thrush of Europe : like the latter, he may be 

 oftentimes seen perched on the summit of a topmost branch, during a 

 warm and balmy evening or morning, pouring forth in rich melody his 

 full voice, and will produce associations which a foreigner would assimi- 

 late with the warblers of his own land. 



" The song of the wood thrush," says Mr Audubon, " although com- 

 posed of but few notes, is so powerful, distinct, clear, and mellow, that 

 it is impossible for any person to hear it without being struck with the 

 effect it produces on the mind. I do not know to what instrumental 

 sounds I can compare these notes, for I really know none so melodious 

 and harmonical. They gradually rise in strength, and then fall in 

 gentle cadence, becoming at length so low as to be scarcely audible." 

 They are easily reared from the nest, and sing nearly as well in confine- 

 ment as when free. 



Prince C. L. Bonaparte, in his " Nomenclature of Wilson's North 

 American Ornithology," remarks, that our author was the first to dis- 

 tinguish the three closely allied species of North American thrushes by 

 decided characters, but that he has nevertheless embroiled the nomen- 

 clature of this and his T. mustelinus : — "This bird being evidently the 

 T. mustelinus of Gmelin and Latham, Wilson's new name, which is not 

 modelled agreeably to any language, must be rejected/' 



The title for our present species, allowing Bonaparte to be correct, 

 and of which there appears little doubt, will therefore now stand, Wood 

 Thrush, Wilson ; Turdus mustelinus, Gmelin ; and T. melodus will come 

 in as a synonym ; while Wilson's T. mustelinus, being without a name, 

 has been most deservedly dedicated to the memory of the great Ame- 

 rican ornithologist himself. — Ed. 



