472 THRUSHES, SOLITAIRES, BLUEBIRDS, ETC. 
in the hush of sunset, when the western sky is aglow and the deep 
voice rises from its chantry in slow, soul-stirring cadences, high-up- 
high-up, look-up, look-up. 
759c. H. g. nana ( Aud .). Dwarf Hermit Thrush. 
Like guttata , but color darker and richer; upper parts brownish oliva¬ 
ceous, tending toward raw umber ; top of head and rump browner than 
back ; upper tail coverts and tail burnt umber; under parts more huffy 
than in guttata. Wing: 3.25, tail 2.75, bill .50, tarsus 1.12. 
Distribution. — Pacific coast region, from Washington southward, breed¬ 
ing south to Sierra Nevada region; east in migrations to Nevada and Ari¬ 
zona, and south to Lower California and western Mexico. 
GENUS MERULA. 1 
General Characters. — Bill slender and compressed, 
<£=r3^'0'"7' notched near end ; nostrils wholly exposed ; tail more than 
V 3 three times as long as tarsus; under parts spotted in 
Fig. 599. young. 
KEY TO SPECIES. 
\ 
1. Outer tail feather with distinct white spot at tip of inner web ; colors 
darker.migratoria, p. 472. 
1'. Outer tail feather without distinct white tip to inner web ; colors paler. 
propinqua, p. 472. 
761. Merula migratoria (Linn.). Robin. 
Like M. m. propinqua , but outer tail feather with a distinct white spot 
at tip of inner web ; 
anterior portion of 
back usually some¬ 
what clouded with 
black in fully adult 
birds. Length: 9-10, 
wing 4.90-5.40, tail 
4.10-4.50, bill .S5-.92. 
Di str i but ion. — 
Breeds from Alaska 
and the arctic coasts 
southeast through 
Hudson Bay region 
and the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains to Kansas, Vir- 
. . ginia, and the Atlan¬ 
tic coast; winters from southern Canada southward. 
Nest and eggs. — Like those of M. m. propinqua. 
Food. — Crickets, grasshoppers, and other noxious insects, seeds, wild 
fruit, and berries. 
761a. M. m. propinqua Ridgw. Western Robin. 
Adults. — Head, wings, and tail blackish ; rest of upper parts slaty 
1 A specimen of Merula confinis was taken by Mr. Emerson at Haywards, Cal., in Janu¬ 
ary, 1882. (Zoe , i. 46.) ’ 
From Biological Survey, U. S. Dept, of Agriculture. 
Fig. 600. 
