18G 
ORNITHOLOGIST 
[^’ol. 7-No. 24 
color, and their soiiffR difter—differ in tone. 
conipaRs, volume, theme and dimition. 
The Tawny and the Hennit always build 
on the {ground in this country, and thouf^h 
their nests and its location are quite simi¬ 
lar yet they are not identical ; both nests 
are loosely and rouj^hly ])ut together, but 
Yeery’s is the most compact and the neat¬ 
est. They are usually placed in an inden¬ 
ture, either natural or formed by the birds, 
and screened by an overhanging branch, but 
while the Veeiy prefers a dry knoll in a 
damp spot, within a wood, the Hermit usu¬ 
ally selects the margin of a grove or a 
patch of trees in a dry and partially over¬ 
grown open ; neither build in a dense 
thicket of trees or shrubbery. Under the 
nests is placed a cushion or platform com¬ 
posed of dried grass or moss. The nest 
proper is l)uilt of dried grass and small 
twigs, unmixed with mud. and is lined with 
fine grass : sometimes tine fibrous roots 
and vines are added to the lining. 
The Olive-backed builds in a tree. and. 
like all tree-builders, makes a substantial 
structure. It is usually ])laced in the 
crotch of a limb some six' or eight feet 
from the ground, generally in a moist place, 
and occasionally in a really wet swamp. 
In a specimen of this nest before me coarse 
grass is the predominating material in the 
extenial parts, but in the walls twigs of 
sj)ruce, bits of lichens and dried leaves are 
mixed with the grass and all are woven 
into a solid mass, very firm and strong. 
The lining is formed by a layer of fine 
grass interwoven with pieces of a black, 
vine-like root, all neatly laid : over these, 
at the bottom, is a layer of skeleton leaves. 
The measurements are: Dej)th, inside, I 4 
inches : width at mouth, inches; out¬ 
side the diameter is irregular, varying from 
4.^ to ;■) inches. Mr. J. W. Banks tells me 
that of some fifty nests of the Olive-backed 
'J'hnish that he has examined all were lined 
with skeleton leaves; but ^Ir. Harold Gil¬ 
bert found one in 187K that was lined with 
moose hair. This nest was built in a gar¬ 
den. in the suburbs of St. John, within 
twenty feet of the house and but an arms- 
length from one of the main walks. The 
moose hair was funiished by a tame animal 
kept on the grounds. The three species 
usually lay four eggs, but it is Mr. Banks’ 
02 )inion that in extremely wet or cold sea¬ 
sons three more frequently complete the 
clutch. So eminent and excellent an au¬ 
thority as Dr. Coues gives four and five as 
the number of eggs, but w’e have never 
seen more than four in any nest obtained 
in this countiw. 
The Tawny and the Hermit lay immacu¬ 
late eggs of a greenish-blue color, but the 
eggs of the Hermit are much the paler and 
are also the longer and more pear-shaped. 
The eggs of the Olive-backed are of a 
bright greenish-blue ground color, not so 
dark as the Yeeiw’s. and irregularly marked 
with jnuqjlish-brown sjmts. In some ex¬ 
amples these spots are so lai'ge and numer¬ 
ous they almost entirely hide ground 
color. The average measurements of the 
eggs are: Tawny, .SOX-bT ; Olive-backed. 
.!)2x.()b: Hermit. .89x.f>4. Few of our 
country-people are acquainted with the aj)- 
pearance of these birds but are familiar 
with their songs which they attribute to 
one species called by them the “ Swamp 
Robin for as in their ajipearance so in 
their song, there is to some degree a su])er- 
ficial resemblance : all have 2 )eculiar metal 
lie voices and sing somewhat similar melo¬ 
dies. Their songs resemble each other 
much more than they resemble that of any 
other species. The Tawny ranks first in 
classification but the Hermit takes prece¬ 
dence as a vocalist. His song is the grand¬ 
est ; it is the finest musical composition and 
disjdavs the most artistic execution, as well 
as the greatest conqiass and power of voice. 
One is surjirised to find so little al>out 
the songs of these Thrushes in the writ¬ 
ings of tlie older ornithologists. Wilson 
says the Tawny has “no song" and calls 
the Hermit “ a silent bird.” .Vmlubon never 
heard the song of the Hermit, and Nuttall 
