204 BIRDS OF THE PUBLIC GARDEN 



tame, allowing one to approach as near as 

 ten feet or to pass under them when perch- 

 ing, and they showed none of that shyness 

 which belongs to the species in its nesting- 

 haunts. 



Once only in the spring has the song been 

 heard, and then it was repeated several 

 times clearly and came as distinctly to the 

 ear as it is heard on the bird's breeding- 

 ground in the White Mountains. This 

 occurred in the early morning of April 21, 

 1902. Upon the same morning, it may be 

 worth while to mention, a Hermit Thrush 

 had been seen at the break of day in the 

 back-yard of a house on Pinckney Street, 

 and viewed with wonder at its choice of 

 so confined and unnatural a resting-place. 

 One of the several call-notes of the species 

 is occasionally given, but rarely. 



The Hermit Thrushes which visit the 

 Garden are usually in plain evidence, often 

 showing little timidity as they run upon 

 the ground, pick their food, and take short 

 flights. When startled from the ground the 

 flight often is merely up into the branches 



