6 
BIRD LIFE IN WASHINGTON 
not make the poetry of his soul under¬ 
stood, he lowers the note, shortens it, and 
puts into it a tinge of impatience. 
He throws back his head, opens his 
mouth wide, and sends forth a long trem¬ 
ulous whistle that thrills human ears a 
quarter of a mile aAvay. 
By a long path in the deep wood, I have 
found Mrs. Thrush upon the nest. It was 
an exceptionally beautiful, bulky affair of 
twigs and mosses lined with dried grasses. 
It was placed in a fir about fifteen feet 
from the ground. It is sometimes placed 
in cedars. In the lowlands, this nest is 
rare; we should go to the foothills to make 
the search more successful. 
The eggs are much like Robin’s eggs, 
save that they are sparingly spotted. 
There are very seldom more than three 
eggs in a nest. 
If we approach too near when the par¬ 
ents are feeding the babies, they set up a 
terrible commotion. If they had known 
enough to be quiet, we would probably 
have seen neither parents nor babies. 
RUSSET-BACKED THRUSH 
Dear little Russet-backed Thursli is as 
common as Robin in summer. It is a 
little olive brown bird with a spotted 
breast. 
He is a late comer but in June and 
Julv, the thickets fairly ring with his, 
«/ 7 O 7 
