Part 51

WILSON’S THRUSH; VEERY Hylocichla fuscescens fuscescens (Stephens)

Description.—Smaller than Robin. Uniform brown above; throat and belly white; sides of throat and breast washed with buffy, and marked with indistinct rows of short, brown streaks; sides white, faintly washed with gray-brown; eye-ring not noticeable in field. Length: 7½ inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A common migrant throughout in later April and May and in September. Nests in the more northerly counties and in the mountains. It is common as a summer resident in suitable damp woodlands.

Nest.—On the ground, made largely of leaves, lined with rootlets and small grasses. Eggs: 3 or 4, delicate greenish blue.

Go to a wooded swamp or to low, thick woodlands to find this elusive bird. If you keep quiet for a time, you may see his brown back as he flashes through the undergrowth. Make a slight disturbance, and he may call zeu in a penetrating tone. He may sing his remarkable ringing song which, in liquid, tinkling, descending spirals, sounds a little like veery, veery, veery, veery. If you become familiar with him, you will see him hopping over the ground like a Wood Thrush; he snaps up an insect here and there, or flops the damp leaves over looking for food.

GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH Hylocichla minima aliciæ (Baird)

Description.—Upperparts olive, unmarked, not even a whitish eye-ring being noticeable in the field; sides of head dull grayish; sides of throat and breast faintly washed with buff, the breast marked with a few dark streaks, which lie in rows; throat and belly white; sides gray. Length: 7½ inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A regular migrant, though not often recorded, during May and in late September and early October.

This bird is difficult to identify in Pennsylvania. It does not often sing, and it is shy. Probably it is commoner than we suppose, but the thrushes look so much alike that we are afraid to record the species unless we have a specimen in hand. It resembles most closely the Olive-backed Thrush; it differs in having a dull whitish eye-ring and grayish cheeks, which in the Olive-back are distinctly buffy. Records of this species should be made with a good glass. The song, which may occasionally be given here, is like a Veery’s.

OLIVE-BACKED THRUSH Hylocichla ustulata swainsoni (Tschudi)

Description.—Upperparts olive; eye-ring and sides of head buffy, the color spreading more or less over the face, throat, and breast; throat streaked and breast somewhat spotted with blackish; belly white; sides grayish. Length: A little over 7 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—An abundant migrant in late April and early May and in September and October; rare as a summer resident, found only at high altitudes in the mountains.

Nest.—Deeply cupped, compact, and neat, of grasses, moss, rootlets, and twigs, placed in a forest tree from 6 to 20 feet from the ground. Eggs: 3 or 4, pale blue, spotted or blotched with red-brown.

The Olive-back’s song is a little like the Wood Thrush’s, but is longer, and it usually ascends the scale, in this respect differing from the Veery’s. Its buffy eye-ring is usually a dependable field-mark. The alarm-note may be written pert, pronounced in front of the teeth.

HERMIT THRUSH Hylocichla guttata faxoni Bangs and Penard

Description.—Underparts olive-brown, with a somewhat noticeable buffy eye-ring, and a noticeably red-brown tail, which is the most dependable field-mark; throat and breast washed with buffy, the breast marked with rows of short, blackish, rounded streaks; belly white; sides grayish brown. Length: A little over 7 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A common migrant, appearing early in spring often during March, and remaining late in fall, often until November or even Christmas; it is casual in winter. As a nesting bird it is rather rare, occurring in the northern counties and at high altitudes.

Nest.—Usually on the ground, of leaves, rootlets, grasses, and moss, lined with finer materials. Eggs: 3 or 4, greenish blue.

The Hermit Thrush’s red-brown tail is usually a good field-mark because it shows plainly, even as the bird flies away. It should not be confused with the Fox Sparrow, however, which has a brown back and bright red-brown tail, and which, curiously enough, occurs as an early spring, or late fall migrant, at about the same time as the Hermit Thrush.

The song of the Hermit Thrush is thought by some to be the highest point attained in American bird-music. It may be described as an elaborated and refined Wood Thrush song, given in deliberate, easy manner, often in the evening, and sometimes virtually at nightfall.

ROBIN Turdus migratorius migratorius Linnaeus

Description.—Adult male: Head blackish; partial white eye-ring; rest of upperparts gray, darker on wings and tail; outer tail-feathers narrowly tipped with white; throat white, streaked with black; breast and sides brownish red, sometimes somewhat barred with whitish; belly and undertail-coverts white, the latter sometimes marked with grayish. Eyes dark brown. Female: Duller. Young: The breasts are spotted with black. Length: 10 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—Abundant migrant and summer resident, appearing early in spring, sometimes in February or March, and lingering often until November; casual in winter, when it is likely to be seen in flocks.

Nest.—A firm, neatly cupped structure of grasses, weed stalks, string, and so forth, with an inner lining of mud, placed in trees, on window-sills, under porches, and sometimes on the ground. Eggs: 3 or 4, pale blue.

The quiet, homelike beauty of the Robin appeals to every American. As the trim bird runs about the dew-drenched lawn, he seems to impart to us his own belief in the goodness of life. He pauses to listen for an earthworm as it scratches its way along its dark tunnel; but if he does not catch the worm, he looks up brightly, runs nimbly a few feet further on, and listens again, firm in his knowledge that he will sooner or later come into his own and catch a worm perhaps even longer than the one he missed. The spotted breasts of the young bespeak kinship with the thrushes.

BLUEBIRD Sialis sialis sialis (Linnaeus)

Description.—A little larger than an English Sparrow. Adult male: Rich, deep, glossy blue above; throat, breast, and sides reddish brown; belly and under tail-coverts white. Female: Similar, but upperparts largely gray, bluest on wings and tail. Young: Similar to female, but with spotted breast. Length: 6 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A common migrant and summer resident from early March until November; casual in winter. It is to be found chiefly in more cultivated districts.