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TURDJS GIGAS.
TÜRDUS GIGAS.
(GIGANTIC THEUSH).
Turd u s gigas F ra ser, P.Z.S. 1840, p. 59.
Bp. Consp. p. 275.
Scl. P.Z.S. 1855, p. 1 4 4 ; 1 8 5 8 ,pp. 4 5 1 ,5 5 0 , e t 1 8 5 9 ,pp. 1 3 0 ,3 3 2 : Cat. A. B. p. 5.
Fusco-nigricans ; su b tu s paulô dilu tio r, subalaribus concoloribus ; ro s tro e t pedibus â avis ; p rima rio e stern o
e longatiore quam so le t : long, to ta 13'0, alæ G'2, rem. prim. e s t. 3 '0 , caudæ O'O, ta rs i l'7 .
Hab. in Novâ G ran ad â e t rep. Æ q u a to r., b
This Thrush, which is at once distinguishable from every other known species o f the
genus by its large size, is an inhabitant o f the highlands o f New Granada and Ecuador. It
was first described by Mr. Fraser in 1840 from skins in the collection o f the late Lord Derby
received from Bogota and probably collected in the immediate vicinity o f that capital, which is
situated at an elevation o f nearly 9000 feet above the sea-level. To the same Naturalist we are
also indebted for the little that is known concerning the habits and mode o f life o f this species.
Dm-ing his expedition to Ecuador in 1857 and the following years Mr. Fraser met with it in
several localities, namely, Cuenca, Titiacun, Matos, and Pallatanga. At Titiacun and Matos
on the plateau o f Eiobamba Mr. Fraser found this Thrush common, and noted it as “ rather a
good songster.” Along with skins o f it obtained in this district Mr. Fraser forwarded a nest
with two eggs, which are now in tlie British Museum. The nest is made o f stalks and grass,
lined with fine hay. The eggs appear rather small for the bird measuring 1-3 by DO inch.
They are o f the usual character o f Turdus as regards colour, being o f a bluish green minutely
freckled with pale red.
Turdus gigas belongs to a small gi-oup o f Thrushes whicli a re. found in different parts of
the chain o f the Andes. The most northern o f these is Turdus nigrescens * o f the luglilands of
Costa Rica. Others are T. chiguanco o f Western Peru and Ecuador, and Turdus fuscater o f
tbe Andes o f Bolivia, which also occurs m the vicinity o f Mendoza in the Argentine Republic.
In all these species, we believe, the sexes are coloured exactly alilce, in which respect they
differ from the true Blackbirds {Meruld), which are also found in South America. In his
synopsis o f the genus Turdus, published in 1859, Sclater proposed as a subgeneric title for
this group the term Semimerula, which Professor Baird subsequently advanced to the rank
of a genus, but, as it appears to us, on insufficient grounds.
Our figure of this Thrush is taken from a “ Bogota” skin in Sclater’s collection. It is represented
three quarters o f the size o f life.
* Cab. J . f. O m . 1860, p. 325.
D ecejjbee, 1868.
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