22 
VARIED THRUSH. 
Turdus najvius, Gmel. 
PLATE GXLIII. — Male and Female. 
Of this beautiful Thrush, of which a figure not having the black band 
running quite across the breast, as is the case in the adult male, is given by- 
Mr. Swainson, in the Fauna Boreali- Americana, Dr. Richardson speaks as 
follows : — “This species was discovered at Nootka Sound, in Captain Cook’s 
third voyage, and male and female specimens, in the possession of Sir 
Joseph Banks, were described by Latham : Pennant has also described 
and figured the same male. The specimen represented in this work was 
procured at Fort Franklin, lat. 604 0 , in the spring of 1826. We did not 
hear its song, nor acquire any information respecting'its habits, except that 
it built its nest in a bush, similar to that of the Merula inigratoria. It 
was not seen by us on the banks of the Saskatchewan ; and, as it has not 
appeared in the list of the Birds of the United States, it most probably does 
not go far to the eastward of the Rocky Mountains in its migrations north 
and south. It may perhaps be more common to the westward of that ridge.” 
Dr. Richardson’s conjecture as to the line of march followed by it has 
proved to be correct, Mr. Townsend and Mr. Nuttall having found it 
abundant on the western sides of the Rocky Mountains. The former of 
these naturalists informs me that he “first found this Thrush on the Columbia 
river in the month of October, and that it becomes more numerous in winter, 
which it spends in that region, though some remove farther south. It there 
associates with the Common Robin, Turdus migratorius , but possesses a 
very different note, it being louder, sharper, and quicker than those of the 
latter, and in the spring, before it sets out for its yet unascertained breeding- 
place, it warbles very sweetly. It is called AmmesJculc by the Chinooks.” 
Mr. Nuttall’s notice respecting it is as follows : — “ Of this bird, whose 
manners so entirely resemble those of the Common Robin, we know almost 
nothing. They probably breed as far north as Nootka, where they were first 
seen by the naturalists of Cook’s expedition. On the Columbia they are 
only winter birds of passage, arriving about October, and continuing more or 
less frequently throughout the winter. At this time they flit through the 
forest in small flocks, frequenting usually low trees, on which they perch in 
perfect silence, and are at times very timorous and difficult of approach, 
