Owen, A Caftive Hermit Thrui.li. 



3 



water, in some way, to the digestive tract of the Thrush, which 

 for many days refused to drink. Although the bird bathed almost 

 daily, and once, at least, bathed twice in one day, up to July 31, 

 when observation was discontinued, it drank in my presence but 

 three times. These exceptions to its rule of abstinence occurred 

 during some hot weather toward the end of its confinement. 



The young Thrush took kindly to its diet of meat. June 28, 

 between 8 a. m. and 7 p. m., it was fed eight times and swallowed 

 27 bits of meat. June 29, between 8 a. m. and 8 p. m., it was fed 

 ten times and ate 25 pieces of meat. In order to get a more 

 definite idea of the appetite that demanded this amount of solid 

 nourishment, I began, July 4, to weigh the bird's food, as well as 

 the bird itself. As this- little investigation proceeded, it became 

 apparent that the bird's weight fluctuated greatly within a space 

 of twenty-four hours. Thus July 4, at night, the Thrush weighed 

 30 grammes, while in the morning of July 5 it weighed but 25.5 

 grammes, a loss during the night of 4.5 grammes. To appre- 

 ciate the significance of this variation, let it be noted that the 

 loss in a single night was 15 per cent of the total weight, so 

 that if a 150 pound man were to suffer the same diminution in 

 avoirdupois, between going to bed and rising, he would lose no 

 less than 22.5 pounds. 



In order to get comparable figures, I made it a practice, there- 

 fore, after July 5, to weigh the bird in the morning. For the five 

 days,' July 4 to July 8, inclusive, the bird's average weight was 

 27.7 grammes, and the average weight of meat eaten daily, 13.56 

 grammes. These figures do not convey a strictly accurate idea of 

 the bird's appetite, because I was absent from my study several 

 hours daily, and the Thrush, undoubtedly, would have eaten more 

 if assiduously tended. For example, July 7, between the hours of 

 11.30 A. M. and 8.45 P.M., being constantly looked after, the 

 bird ate 12 grammes of meat, nearly as much as its average for a 

 whole day ; and although my record indicates that it ate about 50 

 per cent of its weight in meat, yet I feel certain that under the 

 most favorable conditions it would have made way with at least its 

 own weight of raw beef, daily. 



While meat formed the staple diet of my Thrush, during the first 

 weeks of its confinement, and was used, more or less, throughout, 



Skipping the western types, our eastern Turdus pallasi" 

 comes next. Nearly all the names of this shy and solitary bird 

 refer to its habit of haunting for the most part the undergrowth 

 of secluded and damp woods. Its small size and distinguishingly 

 i-eddish tail supply the rest. Following is the list : Hermit or 

 Solitary Thrush; Grive or Merle solitaire (Canada) ; Ground 

 Swamp Robin (Maine) ; Little Swamp Robin and Rufous- 

 tailed Thrush. BuU. N.O.O. 8.APU. 1883, p. 73 • 



