326 BULLETIN 19 6, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



birds, late in spring and early in summer. Mr. Whittle (1922) quotes 

 a number of observers on the subject, and then sums up the evidence, 

 as follows: "The Solitaire is thus reported, by the combined testimony 

 of several observers, to be in song, at least at intervals, from Septem- 

 ber to February inclusive, and by two observers to be silent during 

 the customary singing season. Others, however, including the writer, 

 find the species quite normal in the matter of having the usual spring 

 singing period. It is difficult to account for the reports that this 

 species does not sing during the courting and nesting seasons." 



Mr. Saunders (MS.) says on this subject: "The season of song of 

 the Solitaire, judged from the small amount of data I have, begins 

 in March or April and continues to the middle of July, my earliest 

 and latest dates being March 15, 1910, and July 20, 1911. It fre- 

 quently sings in fall. In most years I heard it early in October, but 

 in 1908 I heard it from September 7 to October 23, which are my 

 earliest and latest dates for fall singing." 



Kussell K. Grater writes to me: "At Cedar Breaks National Mon- 

 ument, at an elevation of over 10,000 feet and in the dead of winter, 

 I have heard solitaires singing loud and clear from the trees, while 

 snow several feet in depth covers the ground. This song was the 

 same familiar one heard in the warmer months." 



Dr. Coues (1874) quotes T. M. Trippe as saying: 



Toward the middle and latter part of winter, as the snow begins to fall, the 

 Fly catching Thrush delights to sing, choosing for its rostrum a pine tree in some 

 elevated position, high up above the valleys; and not all the fields and groves, 

 and hills and valleys of the Eastern States, can boast a more exquisite song. 

 * * * At first it sings only on bright, clear mornings; but once fairly in the 

 mood, it sings at all hours and during the most inclement weather. Often while 

 travelling over the narrow, winding mountain roads, toward the close of winter, 

 I have been overtaken and half-blinded by sudden, furious storms of wind and 

 snow, and compelled to seek the nearest tree or projecting rock for shelter. In 

 such situations I have frequently listened to the song of this bird, and forgot the 

 cold and wet in its enjoyment. Toward spring, as soon as the other birds begin 

 to sing, it becomes silent as though disdainful of joining the common chorus. 



Townsend's solitaire also has some short, metallic calls or alarm 

 notes, which have been written as tink, tink, or clink, or peet, and 

 which are somewhat ventriloquial in effect. They suggest similar 

 notes from some of the other thrushes. Harry S. Swarth (1922) 

 writes, referring to the Stikine Kiver region: "The solitaires did not 

 sing much but the call note was uttered continually. From our 

 rooms in town at Telegraph Creek, this was one bird note that could 

 be heard hour after hour, monotonously repeated nearly the whole 

 day through. To our ears it sounded so nearly like the distant 

 barking of a California ground squirrel (Citellus beecheyi) that the 



