day, but gray cheeks have been recorded from September 6 
to October 15 in the south (George 1968, and U.S. Nation- 
al Museum specimen). 
We have found the fall population to be generally thin, 
except in east-central Illinois, where we regularly see gray- 
cheeked thrushes in numbers (Fig. 28). Our data on spring- 
fall ratios of this species, as in the case of the Swainson’s 
thrush, contrast with those of Annan (1962). Burtis Wilson 
(Hodges 1954) also noted that eray-cheek populations were 
much smaller in the fall than in the spring. In the north, we 
saw 12 gray cheeks in the spring for every 1 seen in the fall. 
In east-central Illinois the ratio was 2 to 1, in west-central 
Illinois it was a remarkable 125 to 1, and in the south it 
was even more lopsided—more than 400 in the spring to 1 
in the fall. 
Gray-cheeked thrushes, like Swainson’s thrushes, are 
common fall victims of television towers. About 11 percent 
of all birds killed at central Illinois towers have been gray 
cheeks. The largest kills occurred between September 16 
and 25, which is also the period of our highest fall counts 
(Fig. 28). 
Food Habits 
Forbes (1903) examined 10 gray-cheek specimens taken 
in May. The locality was not given. In its spring insect con- 
sumption (93 percent of the diet), the gray-cheeked thrush 
was second only to the Swainson’s thrush, but the most dis- 
tinctive feature of the gray cheek’s diet was that ants consti- 
tuted almost half the food. No other thrush approached that 
intake. Caterpillars (15 percent) were typically prominent 
in the diet as were crane flies and their larvae (9 percent), 
but gray cheeks took fewer Coleoptera (18 percent), espe- 
cially Carabidae, than other thrushes. Grasshoppers (3 
percent), Myriapoda (2 percent), and molluscs (5 percent) 
made up the rest of the food. The intake of molluscs, nota- 
bly Succinea and Helix, was high for a thrush. 
There have been no studies of the food in fall. Gault 
(unpublished notes, 1917) saw gray cheeks eating elderber- 
ries in October, and we have often seen them eating poke- 
berries in September and October. 
Specimen Data 
From the kills of gray-cheeked thrushes at television 
towers we preserved 265 as study skins. As described by 
Wallace (1939), two color phases are apparent. Our s 
shows complete gradation from brownish to grayisl 
tremes. 
In size the gray cheeks vary according to sex anc 
(Table 5). One adult male and one adult female fell w! 
the size range of the smaller southeastern form, bicl 
(Wallace 1939), but statistically both were near the i 
ble extreme limits of normal distribution for our sai 
There is also the possibility that both specimens wel 
tually immatures which had lost all marks of immat) 
Because of these considerations, we assigned all of thy 
nois specimens we have examined to the northern, 
minima. Thus although the alleged occurrence of bie 
in Illinois (see Ford 1956) is doubtful, the final ar 
depends upon other types of investigations such as ba 
operations, telemetry observations, and biochemica 
dies. 
The age ratios in our specimens, less than one 
immatures, (Table 5) do not indicate high productivit 
the sample may not be representative of the species. 
VEERY (Catharus fuscescens) 
(Fig. 29 and 30) 
Spring Migration 
The veery’s spring migration coincides very | 
with the migration of the gray-cheek and Swail 
thrushes (Fig. 24, 28, and 31). The first veeries 1 
appear around April 20 in southern Illinois and Apri 
the north. Arrivals earlier than April 18 are unusual 
cially in central and northern Illinois, and reco} 
March and early April (Sanborn 1935, Abbott et al. 
Sparks 1905, and Walter & Walter 1904) are accide 
erroneous. | 
Most of the veery population has passed southe 
nois by May 20, and the north by May 30 (Fig. 31, 
thin population remains in certain areas of northe 
nois to nest. The spring veery populations appea 
fairly uniformly distributed in the state. 
The migration calls of the veery are very mu 
those of the gray-cheeked thrush. Our phonetics 
calls are ‘‘peee-oort”” or ‘““wheee-ur’” with emphasis 
first syllable. The calls are uttered both nightal 
Taste 5.—Weights and measurements of gray-cheeked thrush specimens killed at television towers in central Illinois in Sep 
and October, mainly since 1966. 
Tail Leng 
Gross Weight (grams) Wing Length (mm) 
Number of nee 
Age and Sex Specimens Range Mean Range Mean Range | 
Adult male 97 BD) 2-28 33.8 96-108 102.8 66-78 
Immature male 38 29.5=3929 34.3 95-105 100.6 63-75 
Adult female 86 Dat 5) 31.4 94-105 98.1 61-12 
Immature female 44 28.3-40.3 32.8 92-102 96.2 56-71 
30 
