THRUSHES, SOLITAIRES, BLUEBIRDS, ETC. 469 
5'. Tail light rufous; length 7.50-8.25. Rocky Mountain region. 
auduboni, p. 471. 
4'. Tail not sharply contrasted with back. 
5. Upper parts olive. Migrant in Colorado and Texas. 
swainsoni, p. 470. 
5'. Upper parts hair brown. Alaska and Rocky Mountains. 
almae, p. 471. 
755. Hylocichla mustelina ( Gmel. ). Wood Thrush. 
Adults. — Head and back of neck rusty or golden brown , fading to olive on 
rump and tail; under parts white, marked 
with large blackish wedge-shaped spots. 
Young : like adults, but feathers of crown 
streaked with buff; wing coverts tipped 
with rusty yellow triangular spots; breast 
washed with brownish yellow. Length: 
7.50-8.25, wing 4.10-4.50, tail 3.00-3.30, exposed culmen .62-.75. 
Distribution. — Breeds in the Upper Sonoran and Transition zones of the 
eastern central United States west to western Kansas; migrates to Cuba 
and Guatemala. 
Nest. — Usually saddled on a horizontal branch of a small tree, very 
compact, composed partly of mud. Eggs: 2 to 5, plain greenish blue. 
Food. — Partly ants, beetles, millipeds, and berries. 
756a. Hylocichla fuscescens salieicola Ridgw. Willow 
Thrush. 
Upper parts uniform olive brown , chest pale buffy , marked with triangular 
brown spots ; median under parts white, sides gray. Length: 6.90-7.90, 
wing 3.80-4.25, tail 2.95-3.40, bill .55-.60. 
Distribution. — Breeds in Transition and Canadian zones from Hudson 
Bay and British Columbia south through the Rocky Mountain region to 
southern Colorado, east to the Dakotas and Newfoundland, and occa¬ 
sionally to Illinois ; winters south to southern Brazil. 
Nest. — On or near the ground, made largely of leaves. Eggs: 4, plain 
greenish blue, very rarely with a few specks of brown. 
Food. — Caterpillars, ants, and other insects, with wild berries and 
fruit. 
In Montana, Mr. Williams says, salieicola is the commonest and 
most widely distributed of the thrushes, ranging from the lower 
valleys to the foothills and canyons, but keeping near water in 
thickets of willow, rose, or box elder, away from the heavy timber. 
Its notes are the same as those of its eastern representative, the veery, 
who has the curious bleating call, the quiet whistle whee-ough, and 
the tremulous beautiful song. 
757. Hylocichla aliciae (Baird). Gray-cheeked Thrush. 
Upper parts grayish olive; sides of head gray ; chest buffy, with wedge- 
shaped spots of brown; median under parts white; sides olive gray. 
Length: 7.00-7.75, wing 3.75-4.40, tail 2.95-3.40, bill .45-.5S. 
Remarks. — In general coloration the gray-cheeked resembles the olive- 
backed, but it lacks the buffy eye ring and tawny wash on sides of head. 
Distribution. — Breeds north of the United States from the arctic coast, 
Siberia, and Alaska, southeast through Hudson Bay region to Labrador; 
Fig. 598. 
