828 



Rural School Leaflet 



The brown thrasher 



The wise thrush, he sings each song twice over. 

 Lest you fear he never could recapture 

 That first fine careless rapture." 



ROBERT BROWNING 



Brown thrasher. — Size: About the size of a robin, but with longer tail. 



General color: The upper parts, wings, and tail reddish brown. Wing 

 coverts tipped with whitish; under parts white, streaked with black except 

 on throat and middle of belly. 



Distinctive features: The brown thrasher flirts his tail much as the 

 catbird does. One can distinguish him from the thrushes similar in color 

 by the two white wing bars and long tail. 



" The brown thrasher calls half furtively, half archly, from the tree-top back in the bushy 

 pastures: 'Croquet, croquet, hit it, hit it, come to me, come to me, tight it, tight it, you're out, 

 you're out.' " 



JOHN BURROUGHS 



" Our long-tailed thrush, or thrasher, delights in a high branch of some solitary tree, 

 whence it will pour out its rich and intricate warble for an hour together. This bird is the 

 great American chipper. There is no other bird that I know of that can chip with such 

 emphasis and military precision as this yellow-eyed songster. It is like the click of a giant 

 gunlock." 



JOHN BURROUGHS 



