T^ - l„^nu Thrush in Netv England. U^r^n■Avy 

 Brewster on Btcknell ^ 1/itm.it in /vci.i' n 



densh Vaccinium vitis-idcea, Salix cutleri, Arenaria grcBn- 

 landica, Solidago virga-aurea alfina (with flowers on the 

 point of opening), and Smilacina bifolia. 



Around the outskirts of this Alpine wood the trees were 

 shrubby and often so densely matted that it was miposs:ble to 

 penetrate them, but in the interior one could walk with compar- 

 atively little difficulty. As I picked my way between the stems, 

 carefully avoiding the many dangerous holes and crevices con- 

 cealed beneath the mossy floor, I was forcibly reminded of snudar 

 forests on the bleak shores of Labrador. The few sunbeams ha 

 penetrated among the branches had a pale, wintry cast, and at 

 intervals the rising wind sighed drearily in the trees. Alto- 

 gether there was about the place an air of rugged-almost savage 

 wildness, in fit keeping with the grandeur of the surronndurg 



scenery. . . , n- „ 



In this shaggy forest Thrushes were smgmg and callmg on 

 every side, and in the course of an hour or two 1 managed to 

 secure three specimens, one of which was a typical phve-back, 

 while the other two, to my great delight, proved to be he bu-ds 

 of which we were in search ; viz., representatives of the small 

 southern race of T. alicic^ lately named by Mr. Ridgway in 

 honor of its discoverer, Mr. Bicknell, and until now known onlj' 

 from Riverdale on the Hudson and the Catskill Mountains ot 

 New York. 



Although the specimens just mentioned were the only ones 

 actually taken, we saw and heard many others, both at the pomt 

 already described, and further down the mountain, m the vicinity 

 of the Half-way House. Nor were opportunities wanting for 

 comparing the voice and habits of the new bird with those of its 

 near relative T. swainsoni, both being frequently found together 

 in the same thicket, although the BickneU's Thrushes were the 

 more numerous throughout the region of stunted spruces, while 

 the Olive-backs predominated in the heavy timber below. 



The song of BickneU's Thrush is exceedingly like that of 

 Swainson's; indeed, to my ear, the usual strain, though rather 

 feebler, was nearly indistinguishable; but occasionally -per- 

 haps on the average once ur the course of five or six repeti- 

 tions -a peculiar, and apparently perfectly characteristic bar 

 was interpolated. This was a flute-like per-psekeo-fsekeo given 

 quickly and in a tone which, at a little distance, closely resem- 



iS8.i.l Brewster on BichjielVs Thrush in New England. 



bled that of the Solitary Vireo's well-known voice. The respec- 

 tive call-notes of the two birds, however, were radically 

 different. That of T. swainsoni is a musical fif or feenk as 

 liquid in tone as the sound of dropping water. The call of 

 bicknelli, on the contrary, was harsh and far from pleasing. 

 Usually it was a single loud, penetrating ^ueep, often abbreviated 

 to ^uee, and occasionally varied to ,^ue<>ak with a falling inflec- 

 tion. At a distance this note sounded not unlike the cry of a 

 Nighthawk. Near at hand it had a peculiarly startling efl^ect in 

 the silence of these solitary woods, and I noticed that it left a 

 disagreeable, jarring sensation on the ear. Once or twice it re- 

 called the pkeu of the Tawny Thrush, but ordinarily it was 

 sharper and higher pitched. 



In a general way the habits and actions of these Thrushes may 

 be said to be identical, but dicknem is a much shyer, noisier and 

 more restless bird than its cousin the Olive-back. Indeed I found 

 it next to impossible to creep within shot of one, for long before 

 I was near enough the wary bird would take flight, to resume 

 its sin-ing or calling at some distant and perhaps inaccessible 

 point on the steep mountain side below. The only successful 

 method of proceeding proved to be that of lying in wait near 

 the spot whence one had been driven, for in a short time it 

 was almost sure to return, prompted, apparently, by curiosity, 

 which I found I could stimulate by making a shrill chirping 

 or squeaking. On such occasions the bird would approach 

 by short, cautious flights, keeping itself so well concealed 

 that it would often come within a few yards and retire again 

 without once exposing itself to view. Indeed the two speci- 

 mens taken were only secured by snap shots directed almost 

 at random towards some opening in the branches where the 

 flash of a wing betrayed its owner's movements. 



Judging from the necessarily imperfect observations made dur- 

 ing my hurried reconnoisance, the BickneU's Thrushes are most 

 abundant, on Mt. Washington, in the belt of stunted firs and 

 spruces which border the upper edge of the heavy timber, at an 

 elevation of about 3800 feet. From this point their numbers 

 rapidly diminished as we descended, and the last one positively 

 identified was met with at an elevation of (approximately) 3000 

 feet. Their range upwards is probably co-extensive with that 

 of their favorite spruce thickets, for, as already stated, they were 



