The great confusion in which the nomenclature of the small North American
Thrushes has long remained, compels us again to make a digression on synonymes,
and to occupy time and space which might be devoted to matters of more
lasting interest. The Prince of Musignano, in his valuable “ Observations ” and
“ Synopsis,” is of opinion that the Turdus mustelinus of Wilson is a new species,
first described in the American Ornithology, and that Wilson’s solitarius is the
minor of Gmelin and Latham ; the first being described as “ tawny-brown” on
the upper plumage, and the second as “ olive-brown, inclining to reddish on the tail.”—Syn., pp. 75, 76,
In the first of these opinions we perfectly coincide ; the second requires some
investigation; we must, therefore, go back to original authorities. The first
systematist in whose works we find the name of Turdus minor is Gmelin ; for it is
very remarkable, that although the valuable work of Edwards is frequently cited
in the 1767 edition of the Systema Naturoe, we can discover no reference to the
“ Little Thrush ” figured in the 296th plate of this author’s Gleanings. Gmelin,
therefore, is the first who describes it in systematic language, and his words are
these : “ T. spadiceus, subtus albus, pectore flavicante maculis atris vario :” and
here, among other synonymes, we find for the first time a reference to the above
plate. To this species, therefore, we shall confine our remarks, because the accuracy
of Edwards is perhaps greater than that of any naturalist of his day, and
because he is the only one quoted by Gmelin, with the exception of Catesby,
whose description is rendered more intelligible by a coloured plate. Edwards
says of his bird, “ The head, upper sides of the neck, back, wings, and tail, are
all o f a reddish-broum, or clay-colour, not at all varying in the shades of the feathers,
as they do in our English Thrushes. The throat just beneath the bill is
whitish, the breast yellowish, with dusky spots.” He then goes on to state, that
this description by no means agrees with the slight account given by Catesby of
another bird, called by the name of Little Thrush. Brisson comes next, and we
never consult his valuable pages without deriving solid information. Of his
Turdus iliacus Carolinensis he observes, that all the upper parts, wings, and tail,
“ sont d’un brun-roux. La gorge, la partie inférieure du col et la poitrine sont
d’un roussatre, marqué de taches d’un brun-roux.”—Orn., ii., p. 214. This
description was made from a bird sent from Canada, as that of Edwards was
drawn up from a Philadelphian specimen.
It thus appears that both these original writers describe one and the same species.
It is also clear that Gmelin borrowed his specific character, not from
Catesby’s bird, but from that of Edwards, which is consequently his Turdus minor, a species well distinguished by its tawny, or reddish-brown plumage, in opposition
to the “ office-brown” of Wilson’s solitarius. We leave the other synonymes of
Gmelin, and the whole of those quoted by Brisson, entirely out of the question.
It is plain that Brisson had our bird only before him, which he describes with
even greater precision than Edwards: the reddish breast is a nice, but a very
masterly distinction.
As to the “ Little Thrush ” of Catesby, it appears totally impossible to identify
it with any one species; since, besides those here described, we know of two
others, each of which might pass for the bird he may have intended to commemorate.
The same observation is applicable to the smaller American Thrushes,
mentioned in “ Arctic Zoology,” “ Synopsis o f Birds,” &e. The Turdus
minor of M. Vieillot (Ois. de l’Am., ii., p. 7) is an imaginary species, confessedly
compounded not only of the fuscus and minor of Gmelin, but of the West
India and the Carolina species; neither is it possible to • ascertain which of
these is intended to be represented on the plate. The Turdus mustelinus of
this author is supposed to be the melodus of Wilson, although this has been
questioned.
It is somewhat surprising, that the species whose external characters we have
now illustrated, should have escaped the observation of late American naturalists.
We have long had in our museum a very fine plumaged specimen, sent to us
from Georgia. It perfectly agrees, in every material point, with that here described
; but the peculiar rufous, or rather ferruginous tinge, which uniformly
pervades the whole of the upper plumage, is much clearer and more intense in the
Georgian specimen than in the northern.—Sw.
DESCRIPTION
Of a male, killed at Carlton House, May 29th, 1827.
Colour of the whole dorsal aspect yellowish-brown, slightly inclining to orange-brown.
The inner vanes of the quill and tail feathers are liver-brown. Under surf ace,-H-The chin is
white; the cheeks, throat, and upper part of the breast have a faint tinge of wood-brown, and
are marked with numerous roundish, not very well defined spots of hair-brown. These spots
also extend, but more faintly, to the lower part of the breast, which is whitish. The sides of
the breast, flanks, and linings of the wings are smoke-grey, the belly and under tail coverts
white. The insides of the quill and tail feathers are pale broccoli-brown. The bill is blackish-
brown above, pale horn-colour beneath. Legs very pale-brown.