SPECIES 2 . 
TURDUS RUFUS. 
FERRUGINOUS THRUSH. 
[Plate XIV. — Fig. 1.] 
Fox-coloured Thrush, Catesby, i, 28 . — Turdus rufus, Linn. SysU 
293 . — Lath, hi, 39 . — La Grive de la Caroline, Buiss. ii, 223 . — 
Le Moqueur Frangois, De Buff, hi, 323 . PL Enl. 645 . — S.rct. 
Zool. p. 335 , JV*o. 195 . — Peaue’s Museum, JS'o. 5285 . 
This is the Brown Thrush, or Thrasher of the middle and eas- 
tern states; and the French Mocking-bird of Maryland, Virgi- 
nia, and the Carolinas. It is the largest of all our Thrushes, and 
is a well known and very distinguished songster. About the 
middle or twentieth of April, or generally about the time the 
cherry trees begin to blossom, he arrives in Pennsylvania; and 
from the tops of our hedge rows, sassafras, apple or cherry trees, 
he salutes the opening morning with his charming song, which 
is loud, emphatical, and full of variety. At that serene hour you 
may plainly distinguish his voice full half a mile off. These 
notes are not imitative, as his name would import, and as some 
people believe, but seem solely his own; and have considerable 
resemblance to the notes of the Song Thrush ( Turdus musicus) 
of Britain. Early in May he builds his nest, choosing a thorn 
bush, low cedar, thicket of briars, dogwood sapling, or cluster 
of vines for its situation, generally within a few feet of the 
ground. Outwardly it is constructed of small sticks; then layers 
of dry leaves; and lastly lined with fine fibrous roots; but with- 
out any plaster. The eggs are five, thickly sprinkled with fer- 
ruginous grains on a very pale bluish ground. They generally 
have two brood in a season. Like all birds that build near the 
ground, he shows great anxiety for the safety of his nest and 
