Veery. Wilson's Thrush. Tawny Thrush 



Until this little bird arrives, I feel as the audience do 

 at a concert before the chief singer appears, while the 

 other performers are vainly endeavoring to soothe them 

 by their inferior attempts. 



Flagg. a Year With the Birds.^ 



The veery's usual call-note is a clearly whistled wheeu, 

 which can be closely imitated; his song is a weird, ringing 

 monotone of blended alto and soprano tones. Neither 

 notes nor letters can tell one of its peculiar quality; it 

 has neither break nor pause, and seems to emanate from no 

 one place. If you can imagine the syllable vee-r-r-hu 

 repeated eight or nine times around a series of intertwining 

 circles, the description might enable you to recognize 

 the veery 's song. 



Chapman. Handbook of Birds.^^ 



Hold a stiff beech-leaf at right angles to your lips, and 

 whistle softly a series of descending whee-u, whee-u, whee- 

 whee-u's, and you will get a little of the reed-Uke quaUty 

 and phrasing of the veery 's song. 



Florence A. Merriam. Birds of Village and Field. ^ 



It is one of the simplest strains to be heard — as simple 

 as the curves in form, delighting from the pure element 

 of harmony and beauty it contains, and not from any 

 novel or fantastic modulation of it, — thus contrasting 

 strongly with such rollicking, hilarious songsters as the 

 bobolink. 



Burroughs. Wake Robin. ^ 



159 



