_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.
In its general appearance it has a marked resemblance to Wilson’s
Thrush (_T. fuscescens_), but its habits and notes, as well as its
nest and eggs, clearly point its nearer affinity to Swainson’s Thrush
(_T. swainsoni_), its song being scarcely different from that of the
latter species. Like this species, it frequents the thickets or
brushwood along the mountain streams, and, except just after its
arrival, it is not at all shy. In crossing the Sierra Nevada in July,
1867, Mr. Ridgway first met with this species. He describes it as an
exquisite songster. At one of the camps, at an altitude of about 5,000
feet, they were found unusually plentiful. He speaks of their song as
consisting of “ethereal warblings,—outbursts of wild melody.”
“Although its carols were heard everywhere in the depth of the ravine,
scarcely one of the little musicians could be seen.” “The song of this
thrush,” he adds, “though possessing all the wild, solemn melody of
that of the Wood Thrush (_T. mustelinus_) is weaker, but of a much
finer or more silvery tone, and more methodical delivery. It is much
like that of the _T. swainsoni_, but in the qualities mentioned is
even superior.”
Dr. Cooper found its nests with eggs about the middle of June. These
were most usually built on a small horizontal branch, and were very
strongly constructed of twigs, grasses, roots, and leaves, usually
covered on the outside entirely with the bright green _Hypnum_ mosses
peculiar to that region, which in the damp climate near the coast
continue to grow in that position, and form large masses. The number
of eggs is usually five.
Dr. Cooper states that these thrushes sing most in the early morning
and in the evening, when numbers may be heard answering one another on
all sides. They do not affect the darkest thickets so much as the
Hermit Thrush, but are often seen feeding in the gardens in the open
sunshine.
Dr. Suckley, who found them quite abundant in the neighborhood of Fort
Steilacoom, on the edge of the forest, and in swampy land, describes
the song as a low, soft, sad, and lively whistle, confined to one
note, and repeated at regular intervals. Mr. Nuttall, the first to
describe this form, speaks of it as shy and retiring, and as in the
habit of gathering insects from the ground. His ear, so quick to
appreciate the characteristics of the songs of birds, which showed a
close resemblance between the notes of this bird and that of Wilson’s
Thrush (_T. fuscescens_), enabled him to detect very distinct and
easily recognizable differences. It is much more interrupted and is
not so prolonged. The warble of this bird he describes as resembling
_wit-wit t´villia_, and _wit-wit, t´villia-t´villia_. His call when
surprised was _wit-wit_.
All the nests of this species that have fallen under my observation
are large, compact, strongly constructed, and neat. They measure about
5 inches in their external diameter, with a depth externally of 3; the
cavity is comparatively shallow, being rarely 2 inches in depth. The
external portions are constructed almost entirely of _Hypnum_ mosses,
matted together and sparingly interwoven with dry leaves and fine
fibrous roots, and are lined with finer materials of the same kind.
These nests most nearly resemble in their material and in their
position those of Swainson’s Thrush.
Mr. Hepburn found these birds very abundant about Victoria. It does
not usually breed there before the last of May, though in one
exceptional instance he found a nest with young birds on the 24th of
that month.
The eggs vary in size and shape, ranging from .77 to .94 in length,
and from .65 to .69 in breadth. They also vary in their ground color
and in the tints of the spots and markings. The ground color is light
green or light blue, and the markings are variously yellowish-brown
and lilac, or dark brown and slate.
Mr. Grayson found this thrush very abundant in the month of January,
in the thickest of the woods, in the islands of the Three Marias, on
the Pacific coast of Mexico. They were very timid and shy, more so
than any bird that he saw on those islands. It frequently uttered a
low plaintive whistle, and seemed solitary in its habits.
Turdus pallasi, CABANIS.