24 THE BIRD OF SOLITUDE. 



with food. On such occasions the young robin 

 calls vociferously, jerks himself about, flutters 

 his wings, and in every way shows the impa- 

 tience of his disposition. The young thrush 

 sits silent, quivering with expectation, while the 

 parent, slightly lifting the wings, pops the 

 sweet morsel into the waiting mouth ; but no 

 impatience and no cries. 



There is, however, a time when the thrush is 

 somewhat noisy, — when the young are in dan- 

 ger. One day, while slowly walking through a 

 secluded path, in a piece of woods beloved of 

 thrushes, I came suddenly upon a young thrush, 

 almost under my hand. It was sitting in the 

 forks of a branch, three feet from the ground, 

 perfectly motionless, but watching me intently 

 I brought my hand down carefully, and just as 

 it was closing — softly, for fear of injury — the 

 little creature slipped out from under, and dis- 

 appeared in the bushes. The parents, as soon 

 as it escaped, began loud though not harsh 

 cries ; perhaps to distract my attention, per- 

 haps to direct or cheer the little one. I have 

 no doubt that the youngster was crouched in 

 plain sight not three feet from where I stood ; 

 but although I searched every inch of ground, 

 not a glimpse did I get of it, in spite of my as- 

 surance that it was near all the time. 



The wood thrush is very decided in his taste 



