250 



THE VARIED THRUSH. 



There is no s(.inn(l of the western woods more sulitle.iiiore mysterious, more 

 thrihing withal, than this jjassion song of the Varied Thrush. Somber depths, 

 dripijing foliage, and the distant gurgling of dark brown waters are its fitting 

 accompaniments; Ijut it serves somehow to call up before the mind's eye the un- 

 sealed heights and the-untried deeps of experience. It is suggesti\'e, elusive, and 

 whimsically Ijahling. Never colorless, it is also never personal, and its weird 



extra-mundane <|ualit\' reminds 

 one of anti(|ue china reds, or re- 

 calls the suljdued luridness of 

 certain ancient frescoes. More- 

 over, this birtl can fling his 

 voice at 3'ou as well from the 

 tree-top as from the ground, 

 now right, now left, the while 

 he sits motionless upon a branch 

 not fifteen feet above you. 



Fantastic and \aried as is 

 this single note which is the 

 Thrush's song, it may be fairly 

 reproduced by a high-pitched 

 whistle combined with a vocal 

 undertone. At least, this imi- 

 tation satisfies the bird, and it 

 is possible to engage one after 

 another of them in a sort of 

 \-ocaI contest in which curiositv 

 and jealousy play unquestioned 

 parts. Sometimes tlie Thrush's 

 note is quite out of reach, but 

 as often it descends to low 

 pitches, while now and then it 

 is flatted and the resonance 

 crowded out of it, with an in- 

 describable effect upon the lis- 

 tener, somewhere between ad- 

 miration and disgust. At other 

 times a trill is introduced, 

 which can be taken care of by a 

 trained palate, in addition to the 

 vocal sound and the whistle. 

 In a luiique degree the A'aried Thrushes are found thruout the forest 

 flepths. Ciix-en tall timljer and plenty of it, the precise altitude or location are 



.\,:lion„l r.irk. I'l:.'!,, by 



"GIVEN TALL TIMBER.- 



11". L. Lhn.'i 



