WOOD THRUSH 



33 



^' on the back, and a greyish white on the breast and belly. Mr. 



" — , my son-in-law, was in possession of one which had been 



^' shot by a neighbour, he pronounced it a ?nuscicapa, mid I think it 

 much resembles the Moiiche rolle de la Martinique, 8 BufFon, 374, 

 " PI. enlum, 568. As it abounds in all the neighbourhood of Phi- 

 " ladelphia, you may, perhaps, by patience and perseverance (of 

 " which much will be requisite) get a sight, if not a possession of 

 " it. I have for 20 years interested the young sportsmen of my 

 " neighbourhood to shoot me one; but as yet without success. 



It may seem strange that neither Sloane,"^ Catesby, Edwards 

 nor Buffon, all of whom are said to have described this bird, should 

 say any thing of its melody; or rather, assert that it had only a 

 single cry or scream. This I cannot account for in any other way 

 than by supposing, what I think highly probable, that this bird has 

 never been figured or described by any of the above authors. 



Catesby has, indeed, i^epresented a bird, which he calls Tur- 

 dus minimus,^ but it is difficult to discover, either from the figure 

 or description what particular species is meant; or whether it be 

 really intended for the Wood Thrush we are now describing. It 

 resembles, he says, the English Thrush; but is less, never sings, 

 has only a single note, and abides all the year in Carolina. It must 

 be confessed that, except the first circumstance, there are few fea- 

 tures of the Wood Thrush in this description. I have myself 

 searched the woods of Carolina and Georgia, in winter, for this 

 bird, in vain, nor do I believe that it ever winters in these states. 

 If Mr. Catesby found his bird mute during spring and summer, it 

 was not the Wood Thrush ; otherwise he must have changed his 

 verv nature. But Mr. Edwards has also described and delineated 

 the Little Thrush,t and has referred to Catesby as having drawn 

 and engraved it before. Now this Thrush of Edwards I know to 

 be really a different species; one not resident in Pennsylvania^ but 



* Hist. Jam. ii, 305. f Catesby, Nat. Hist. Car. i, 31. % Edwards, 296. 



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