Page:Ornithological biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America, vol 2.djvu/399

Rh its retired habits, and seeks refuge in the concealment of dark shady woods, near brooks or moist grounds. There, in a low bush, or on the ground beneath it, this bird builds its nest, which is large, composed ex- ternally of dry leaves, mosses, and the stalks of grasses, and lined with finer grasses, and delicate fibrous portions of difi'erent kinds of mosses, without any mud or clay. The eggs, which are deposited early in June, are from four to six, and resemble those of the Cat Bird in colour and shape, but are of smaller size. They raise only one brood in the season. The parents, ever extremely shy, shew no desire to assist their young, or defend their nest from intruders, but remain during your visit at some distance, uttering a mournful and angry quake, somewhat resembling that of the Cat Bird on such occasions. The Cow Bunting not unfrequently deposits its egg in the nest of this Thrush, where it is hatched, and the young brought up with all imaginable care. In the neighbourhood of the city of Boston, some of these birds, according to my learned friend NuTTALL, breed sometimes in the gardens, and he has known of a nest placed in a gooseberry bush. A full-fledged young one that was caught and placed in a cage, retained the unsocial and silent timidity peculiar to the species. The males are obstinate in their quarrels, and fight with great fierceness in maintaining their right to the ground which they have appropriated to themselves.

The song of this species, although resembling that of the Wood Thrush in a great degree, is less powerful, and is composed of continued trills repeated with different variations, enunciated with great delicacy and mellowness, so as to be extremely pleasing to one listening to them in the dark solitudes where the sylvan songster resides. It now and then tunes its throat in the calm of evening, and is heard sometimes until after the day has closed.

It searches for food even at those hours, and feeds principally on co- leopterous insects. In Labrador it also picks the tender blossoms of se- veral dwarf plants, and feeds on berries. Its time is, for the most part, spent on the ground, where it moves with singular agility by leaps, stop- ping instantaneously and standing erect for a few moments, as if apprehending danger, but immediately renewing its course.

We have in the Middle Districts another species of Thrush nearly allied to this, but differing considerably in the size and shape of its bill, and especially in its habits. Of this bird I shall give you an account on another occasion.