BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER
Polioptila cærulea cærulea (Linnæus)
Description.—Size very small, with long tail and short wings. Male: Upperparts blue-gray, a line across forehead and above eye white, bordered above by narrow black line; central tail-feathers black, the outer ones white; underparts soiled whitish. Female: Similar, the black of the head duller or missing. Length: 4½ inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—A rather local summer resident in southern counties.
Nest.—A beautifully made structure of fur, plant-fibers, and bark, covered with lichens and dried flower petals, held in place with cobwebs, from 15 to 40 feet from the ground on a horizontal branch. Eggs: 3 to 5, pale blue, rather heavily spotted with brown.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
This dainty little creature is restless; his tail wags or shakes almost constantly as he pursues insects. His usual cry is a complaining new, new, whined as he hops about among the foliage. Both birds assist in covering the nest with lichens, which they gather from nearby tree-trunks, and which they bind into the structure with cobwebs so that it is firm and neat. The male may, at times, be rather noisy about the family secrets, and if we patiently watch him as he flits through the branches, he may lead us to the nest.
WOOD THRUSH
Hylocichla mustelina (Gmelin)
Description.—Smaller than Robin. Rich brown above, brightest on head and neck, with noticeable whitish eye-ring; below white, marked all over with round black spots; eyes large, very dark brown. Length: 8 inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—Common migrant and summer resident from about the first of May to October. It is not found in dense hemlock woods in the wilder districts, nor at higher altitudes.
Nest.—A firm, neat cup of grasses, weed-stalks, paper, string, and leaves, lined with finer materials, with an inner wall of mud, placed from 5 to 20 feet from the ground in a tree. Eggs: 3 or 4, pale blue, much like those of the Robin in color, but smaller.
Wood Thrush
This is the largest, brightest, and most strikingly marked of our thrushes, and he is the only one whose underparts are marked all over with round black spots.