88 THE WEST VIRGINIA 
197. OLIVE-BACKED THRUSH. 
Turdus ustulatus swainsonii (Cab.). 
Transient visitant. Inserted on the authority of Mr. William 
Brewster, who records it in his Birds of Ritchie County. I 
did not meet with it. 
198. HERMIT THRUSH. 
Turdus aonalaechicae pallasii (Cab.). 
Transient visitant; tolerably common. This is another 
Thrush I did not meet with. Mr. William Brewster found 
it in Ritchie County during April and May, where it fre- 
quented elevated woods, In this species the upper parts are 
olivaceous, excepting the tail, which is rufous. 
199. ROBIN. 
Merula migratoria (Linn.). 
Summer resident; abundant. The Robin is one of the 
most abundant birds in West Virginia, and I have no doubt 
that many of them remain throughout the winter months in the 
southern portion of the State, but this, I think, depends en- 
tirely on the food supply during that time of year. This species 
should receive more of the farmers’ attention than it does, as it 
is pre-eminently insectivorous. It occasionally feeds upon 
fruits, both the wild and cultivated kinds, while they are in 
season, but this period is short of duration, and during the rest of 
the year it destroys large numbers of injurious insects. Among 
wild fruits it feeds upon high blackberry (/tzbus villosus), 
wild red raspberry (#. strigosus), dewberry (2. canadensis), 
black raspberry (2. occidentalis), strawberry (/ragaria vir- 
giniana), wild black cherry (Pranus serotina), and common 
red cherry (£. cerasws), and in autumn it feeds upon the ber- 
ries of common poke (Pkhytolacca decandra). Stomach of 
specimen secured contained grasshoppers and a white grub. 
200. BLUEBIRD. 
Sialia Sialis (Linn.). 
Summer resident; common. This species is generally dis- 
tributed, and is the first harbinger of spring. Stomach of 
specimen secured contained grasshoppers and larve of Lefi- 
doptera. 
