474 THRUSHES, SOLITAIRES, BLUEBIRDS, ETC. 
763. Ixoreus naevius ( Gmel. ). Varied Thrush. 
Adult male. — Under parts bright rusty brown , throat crossed by blackish 
necklace; belly mixed white and gray; upper parts dark bluish slate, 
feathers edged with lighter; wings banded and edged with brown ; side 
of head black, bordered above by brown streak. Adult female: similar, 
but much duller; upper parts washed with brown — deeper in winter — 
and collar obscured by brown feathers. Young : like female, but duller ; 
collar less distinct, and more or less spotted with yellowish brown; feath¬ 
ers of breast edged with dusky and those of upper parts with'distinct 
paler shaft streaks. Length: 9—10, wing 4.90-5.20, tail about 3.60-3.80, 
bill about 1. 
Distribution. — Breeds in Boreal zone along the Pacific coast from Ber¬ 
ing Strait to Humboldt County, Cal.; winters from Washington to Lower 
California. 
Nest. — Compact and bulky, in bushes and small trees. Eggs : 4, pale 
greenish blue, sparingly speckled with brown. 
Food. — Caterpillars, weevils, ants, millipeds, mast, and wild berries. 
The varied thrushes reach California in November, and flocks of 
the splendid beauties, with orange breast and dark necklace, may be 
seen in winter in the arboretum at Stanford and other places where 
California holly berries are to be found. The birds are also es¬ 
pecially fond of manzanita berries. In Placer County, Mr. Wil¬ 
liams says, they live on insect food in winter, and are extremely shy, 
rarely leaving the dark, heavily wooded canyons or hillsides. In 
Oregon, Mr. Anthony tells us they are timid on their first arrival, 
but grow tame enough to visit the ranches. They leave California 
in March, and at that time Dr. Mearns found them abundant and 
tame at Fort Klamath, coming about the houses fearlessly in great 
numbers. 
Mr. Fuertes, in describing the song of the varied thrush as he 
heard it in Alaska, says that it is “ most unique and mysterious, and 
may be heard in the deep still spruce forests for a great distance, 
being very loud and wonderfully penetrating. It is a single long- 
drawn note, uttered in several different keys, some of the high- 
pitched ones with a strong vibrant trill. Each note grows out of 
nothing, swells to a full tone, and then fades away to nothing until 
one is carried away with the mysterious song. When heard near 
by, as is seldom possible, the pure yet resonant quality of the note 
makes one thrill with a strange feeling, and is as perfectly the voice 
of the cool, dark, peaceful solitude which the bird chooses for its 
home as could be imagined. The hermit thrush himself is no more 
serene than this wild dweller in the western spruce forests.” 
763a. I. n. meruloides (Swains.). Pale Varied Thrush. 
Adult female. — Similar to female ncevius , but grayer and paler, white 
markings more extended, wing longer, more pointed. 
Distribution. — Breeds in interior of northern Alaska; migrates to south¬ 
ern California. 
