116 BULLETIN 196, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



bill was filled with food. The female sometimes gave this sound while 

 she was on the nest. It was also used by the male when he sat at 

 some distance from the nest or when he arrived with food and the 

 female did not leave the nest so that he could feed the young. 



Brackbill (1943) describes a "rudimentary or vestigial song" — an 

 explosive one used by the female in defense of territory. 



The young birds uttered a faint chip, which was the food call. This 

 was not loud enough to be heard at any distance but could be heard 

 easily from the blind. My first record of such a call was made, as 

 mentioned before, four minutes after the young was free from the 

 shell. This call also serves to indicate the location of the birds after 

 they have left the nest. Brackbill (1943) says that the juveniles 

 began using a rudimentary form of the adults' rattle or trill, which 

 consisted of three or four notes, at the age of 21 days. Also when 

 chased a young bird bursts into a series of calls similar to the adult 

 call I have described as pit, pit. 



Early in the season wood thrushes perched in the tops of the 

 highest trees in their territories to sing their loudest, most complete, 

 and most varied songs of the season. A week later perches were about 

 15 feet above the ground. Often they chose short, dead branches of 

 hemlocks. Others were known to sing from the ground, from large 

 logs, in the nest tree, or even from the edge of the nest in the absence of 

 the female. 



From my observations, wood thrushes begin their morning songs 

 with the break of day, singing at the end of June at 3:45 a. m. in 

 Ithaca, N. Y. At this time it is still quite dark and feeding has not 

 yet begun. This singing continues both through the periods of 

 incubation and brooding. Evening song usually ceases at dark, or 

 about 8:00 p. m. in June in Ithaca, Wright (1912) made a study of 

 morning awakening and evening songs of birds in the White Mountains 

 of New Hampshire in which he recorded the average of early wood- 

 thrush songs as 3 :26 a. m. The earliest sunrise during the study was 

 4 :02, and so the wood thrushes sang about half an hour before sunrise. 



Song on the breeding grounds begins with the arrival of the first 

 birds; so it is believed that the males do not wait until the females 

 arrive before the song period begins. Males arrive and sing to denote 

 the possession of their territory. There was song in the evening only, 

 after the young had left the nest. 



On one occasion Brackbill heard a wood thrush sing a song of good 

 quality while on the wing and not in defense of territory. 



Forbush (1929) describes the calls and song as follows: "Notes, a 

 liquid quirt, a low tut tut, a sharp pit pit or pip pip and a shrill tsee tsee. 

 Song, a pure, clear, sweet, expressive, liquid refrain, often with a 

 bell-like ending; usually composed of a series of triplets, each beginning 



