354 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 



ing on small wild berries till nearly the close of Septem- 

 ber. 



It appearSj according to AVilson, that the favorite re- 

 sort of this, or a nearly allied species (the Turdus luclo- 

 vicianus of Audubon), is in the cane-brakes, swamps, 

 river shores, and watery solitudes of Louisiana, Tennes- 

 see, and Mississippi. Here they are abundant, and are 

 eminently distinguished by the loudness, sweetness, and 

 expressive vivacity of their notes, which, like the Night- 

 ingale's, beginning high and clear, flow and descend in 

 a cadence so delicate as to terminate in sounds, scarcely 

 audible above the whispering breeze. At such times he 

 sits perched on some branch which stretches impending 

 over the flowing stream, and pours out his charming mel- 

 ody with such eflect as to be heard at the distance of 

 nearly half a mile, giving a peculiar charm to the 

 dark and solitary wilds he inhabits. The silence of 

 night is, also, at times, relieved by the incessant warble 

 of this Western Philomel, whose voice, breaking upon the 

 ear of the lonely traveller in the wilderness, seems like 

 the dulcet lay of some fairy vision. His song is also 

 heard in the winter, when the weather proves mild. In 

 this habit he appears considerably allied to the Reed 

 Thrush * or River Nightingale of Europe, which night 

 and day almost ceaselessly sings and soothes his sitting 

 mate, anions; the reeds and marshes of his favorite re- 

 sorts. This bird, in Louisiana, commences its nest 

 early in April. It is placed usually at the foot of a tree, 

 or by the side of a decayed log, and is formed of dry 

 leaves, moss, and fine grass, being lined with hair or 

 the similar fibres of the Spanish moss ( Tilandsia). 

 The eggs are 4 or 5, flesh-color, with dark red spots at 

 the greater end. When startled from her eggs or young, 



* Tardus arundinaceus. 



