26 
FERRUGINOUS THRUSH. 
active, vigorous bird, flies generally low, from one thicket to another, 
with his long broad tail spread like a fan ; is often seen about briar and 
bramble bushes, along fences ; and has a single note or chuck, when 
you approach his nest. In Pennsylvania they are numerous, but never 
fly in flocks. About the middle of September, or as soon as they have 
well recovered from moulting, in which they suffer severely, they dis- 
appear for the season. In passing through the southern parts of Vir- 
ginia, and south as far as Georgia, in the depth of winter, I found them 
lingering in sheltered situations, particularly on the border of swamps 
and rivers. On the first of March they were in full song round the 
commons at Savannah, as if straining to outstrip the Mocking-bird, that 
prince of feathered musicians. 
The Thrasher is a welcome visitant in spring to every lover of rural 
scenery and rural song. In the months of April and Ma} r , when our 
woods, hedge-rows, orchard and cherry trees are one profusion of blos- 
soms, when every object around conveys the sweet sensations of joy, 
and heaven's abundance is as it were showering around us, the grateful 
heart beats in unison with the varying elevated strains of this excellent 
bird : we listen to its notes with a kind of devotional ecstasy, as a morn- 
ing hymn to the great and most adorable Creator of all. The human 
being who, amidst such scenes, and in such seasons of rural serenity 
and delight, can pass them with cold indifference, and even contempt, I 
sincerely pity ; for abject must that heart be and callous those feelings, 
and depraved that taste, which neither the charms of nature, nor the 
melody of innocence, nor the voice of gratitude or devotion can 
reach. 
This bird inhabits North America from Canada to the point of Florida. 
They are easily reared, and become very familiar when kept in cages ; 
and though this is rarely done, yet I have known a few instances where 
they sung in confinement with as much energy as in their native woods. 
They ought frequently to have earth and gravel thrown in to them, and 
have plenty of water to bathe in. 
The Ferruginous Thrush is eleven inches and a half long, and thir- 
teen in extent ; the whole upper parts are of a bright reddish brown ; 
wings crossed with two bars of white, relieved with black ; tips and 
inner vanes of the wings dusky ; tail very long, rounded at the end, 
broad, and of the same reddish brown as the back ; whole lower parts 
yellowish white ; the breast, and sides under the wings, beautifully 
marked with long pointed spots of black, running in chains ; chin white ; 
bill very long and stout, not notched, the upper mandible overhanging 
the lower a little, and beset with strong bristles at the base, black above, 
and whitish below near the base ; legs remarkably strong and of a 
dusky clay color ; iris of the eye brilliant yellow. The female may be 
distinguished from the male by the white on the wing being much nar- 
