fibres, the flowering steins of the Cladonia mosses, lichens, fine strips of bark, etc.
The eggs, which are four or five in number, exhibit noticeable variations in size, shape, and shades of coloring, bearing some resemblance to those of T. ustulatus and to the eggs asserted to be those of T. nanus, but are sufficiently distinct, and are still more so from those of T. aliciæ. They range in length from .83 to .94, with a mean of .88, their mean breadth is .66, the maximum .69, and the minimum .63. Their ground color is usually bluish-green, sometimes light blue with hardly a tinge of green, and the spots are of a yellowish-brown, or russet-brown, or a mixture of both colors, more or less confluent, with marked variations in this respect.
Turdus swainsoni, var. ustulatus, Nuttall.
OREGON THRUSH.
Turdus ustulatus, Nuttall, Man. I, 1840, 400 (Columbia River).—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 215, pl. lxxxi, fig. 1.—Ib. Rev. Am. B. 1864, 18.—Cooper & Suckley, P. R. Rep. XII, II, 1860, 171.—Ridgway, Pr. A. N. S. Philad. 1869, 127.—Dall & Bannister, Tr. Chic. Acad.—Cooper, Birds Cal., 5.
Sp. Char. General appearance of fuscescens, but with pattern of swainsoni; the buff orbital ring as conspicuous as in latter. The olive above is more brown than in this, and less yellowish than in fuscescens, becoming decidedly more rufescent on wings and less observably so on tail. Pectoral aspect different from fuscescens, the spots narrower and cuneate, sharply defined, and arranged in longitudinal series; in color they are a little darker than the crown. Length, 7.50; wing, 3.75; tail, 3.00; tarsus, 1.12.
Hab. Pacific Province of United States. Tres Marias Isl., Guatemala (winter), Mus. S. I.
This well-marked race is to be compared with swainsoni, not with fuscescens, as has generally been done; the latter, except in shade of colors, it scarcely resembles at all; still greater evidence that such is its affinity is that the T. ustulatus builds its nest on a tree, and lays a spotted egg, like swainsoni, while fuscescens nests on or near the ground, perhaps never in a tree, and lays a plain blue egg. The song of the present bird is also scarcely distinguishable from that of swainsoni. Upon the whole, we see no reason why this should not be considered as a Pacific Province form of the Turdus swainsoni; at least it becomes necessary to do so, after referring to T. pallasi as geographical races, the T. auduboni and T. nanus.
Habits. So far as we are aware, this thrush has a very limited distribution, being mainly restricted to the Pacific coast region from California to Alaska in the breeding season, though migrating southward in winter to Guatemala. Dr. Kennerly found it in great abundance breeding at Chiloweyuck Depot, July 3, 1859. Dr. Cooper also found it one of the most abundant of the summer residents in Washington Territory, arriving there
in May and remaining until the beginning of September. Three specimens of this thrush were obtained at Sitka, by Mr. Bischoff. Mr. Ridgway met with only a single specimen east of the Sierra Nevada, though on that range he found it an abundant summer bird.