THRUSH (AS. )'rysee, 011G. drosea, draseca, drascelu. Bavarian I)rosehel, thrush; connected with AS. ?route, Eng. throstle, Ger. Drowse!, thrush, and ultimately with Lat. turdus, Lith. stnizdas, Lett. strezds, thrush). The thrushes comprise the subfamily Turdinte of the family Turdithe, usually ranked as the high est group of birds. They have a bill of moderate size, straight, shorter than the head, and pro vided at the base with rietall bristles; the nostrils are oval and bare; the tarsi are long, slender, and `booted;' ten primaries are present, but the outermost is exceedingly small : tail shorter than wings. About 150 species, all of moderate size, are known, and they arc widely distributed, and most of them are migratory. A few species are gregarious, but the majority live singly or in pairs. Their food is mainly insects and worms, of which they destroy incalculable numbers, but in winter they eat berries and seeds, and in spring mail fruits. All are excellent singers, and some are counted the best of bird songsters.
In America, north of .1exico, there are about a dozen species of thrush, of which the best known is the common robin (q.v.), which ranges over the whole continent. In Lower California there is an allied species; and in the Northwest occurs the 'varied thrush.' (See OREGON ROBIN.) Our more distinctive 'thrushes' are considerably smaller than the robin, and all of them are birds of the woods.
The best known are the Wilson's thrush or veery (Turdus fuscescens), the song or wood thrush (Turdus musteliaus), the olive-backed thrush (Turdus vstulat us), and the hermit thrush (Turdus Aonalaschkw), the two latter having several 'varieties.' All these are seven or eight inches long, olive or brown above, white, more or less creamy and spotted below. The wood-thrush or 'wood-robin' is a less retiring bird, not infrequently seen on lawns and in or chards. He is larger than the veery, with the head bright cinnamon brown, changing gradu ally into light olive brown toward the tail. Moreover, he is thickly marked with large round black spots underneath. The song of this thrush, especially as evening approaches, is remarkably sweet and has made him a great favorite with bird-lovers. The ordinary calling note has been likened to striking pebbles together; it is utterly unlike the clear whistle of the veery. The nest is usually in a hush or on a tree-limb or a stump, five or ten feet from the ground, and is dis tinctively characterized by always having a foundation of dead leaves, often with sonic mud. The eggs are clear blue. The olive-backed thrush is a more northerly species than either of the preceding, and occurs in the United States chiefly as a migrant, while it winters in the tropics. It is readily distinguished by the uniform olive upper parts, and the bright buff loves and rings around the eyes. The only species with
which it is at all likely to be confused is the gray-checked thrush (Turd us A Heim), a bird of similar range and habits, without the buff lores and eye-rings, and formerly regarded only as a variety. The eggs of both are blue, spotted and speckled with bright brown. The hermit thrush may be easily recognized by the fact that the tail is rufous, brighter than the back. It is also a somewhat smaller and more slender bird than either the veery or wood-thrush. It is distributed over the whole of North America, but breeds mainly north of the United States. There are several varieties recognized by names, as in the preceding species, and, like that also, the Pacific Coast form is considered typical, while the bird occurring in the eastern part of the continent is counted a variety. Thus the olive-backed thrush of the East is the sub-species Saadi:802)N and the hermit thrush of the same region is the subspecies Pallasii. The latter is one of the most renowned songsters of America, although, on account of its northern breeding grounds and retiring habits, few persons hear it. While some regard the notes as not essentially superior to those of the wood-thrush, most writers on bird music agree that for "purity and sweetness of tone and exquisite modulation" the hermit is unequaled. The nest and eggs are very similar to those of the veery.
The thrushes of the Old World are numerous and well-known birds, of which several are common in Great Britain, as the song-thrush or `marls,' the mistle-thrush, blackbird, ouzel, field fare, and redwing (qq.v.).
The name thrush is sometimes given to birds of other families, which are exceptional song sters. Thus in the United States the thrasher (q.v.), one of the finest singers we have, is often called 'brown thrush,' although more near ly a wren. On the other band, various members of the family are known by other names, as the bluebird, robin redbreast, stonechat, and various small Oriental genera.
The Turdime, characterized by the fact that the young are constantly spotted, although they may become concolorons when adult, is only one of the five subfamilies into which the great thrush family (Turdide) is divided. The other subfamilies are the Myiodectime, a small group of brownish flycatcher-like birds; the Sylviime, or Old World warblers (see WARBLER) ; the Pol iopti lime, or gnat-catchers and wren-tits (qq.v.) ; and the Alimime, or American mocking birds, including the incomparable mocking-bird of our Southern States. It should be added that some ornithologists object to this widely inclusive use of the family name. Consult am tho•ities cited under BIRD. See Colored Plate of SONG BIRDS.