Page:Ornithological biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America, vol 2.djvu/400

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364
TAWNY THRUSH.


The specimen represented in the plate was procured and drawn in the State of Maine, and was in full plumage. The female can scarcely be distinguished from the male.

TuRDUS WiLsoNii, Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 76.

Merula Wilsonii, Swains, and Richards, Fauna Boreali. Americ. vol. ii. p. 182.

Tawny Thrush, Turdus mtjstelinus, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. v. p. 98. pi. 43. fig. 3 Nuttall, Manual, vol. i. p. 349.

Adult Male. Plate CLXVI.

Bill rather short, nearly straight, compressed towards the end ; upper mandible with the dorsal outline a little convex, the tip slightly declinate, the margins acute, inflected towards the end, slightly notched close upon the tip ; lower mandible nearly straight in its dorsal outline, the tip rather obtuse. Head of ordinary size, neck and body rather slender. Feet ra- ther long ; tarsus longish, compressed, slender, anteriorly covered with a few elongated scutella, posteriorly sharp-edged, longer than the middle toe ; toes scutellate above, lateral ones almost equal, the outer connected as far as the second joint.

Plumage soft, rather loose, slightly glossed. A few longish bristles at the base of the upper mandible. Wings of ordinary length, the third quill longest, the second and fourth little shorter, the first very short. Tail rather short, even, of twelve broad feathers.

Bill brownish-black above, flesh-coloured at the base of the lower man- dible. Iris dark-brown. Feet pale flesh-colour. The general colour of the upper parts is uniform reddish-brown, slightly tinged with green, the upper tail-coverts and edge of the wing inclined to rufous. Cheeks and space before the eye pale greyish-brown, obscurely streaked with hair-brown ; a faint line of the same colour over the eye. Wings and tail dark brown, margined with pale. The lower parts are white, the sides of the neck tinged with pale brownish-yellow, and with the lateral parts of the breast and the sides faintly marked with small triangular dusky spots.

Length 7i% inches, extent of wings 12 ; bill along the ridge -^^^ along the edge -^-^ ; tarsus 1/^ ; middle-toe ^ ; weight oz.

The Female resembles the Male in external aspect.