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Notes on the Varied Thrush at Everett, 

 Washington 



The X'aricd Thrushes are among the 

 most characteristic birds of a Puget Sound 

 winter. Many a rainy day is made less 

 dreary by their bright presence and their 

 peculiar song, for these birds, unlike most 

 of our winter residents, sing more or less 

 freely throughout their stay — a habit 

 which, according to Mr. Lord's book, is 

 not shared by the Varied Thrushes win- 

 tering in Oregon. 



These Thrushes arrive in Everett about 

 the middle of Se])tember. Sometimes the 

 first intimation we have of their arrival 

 is the sound of their odd song, which sets 

 our nerves thrilling and our hearts re- 

 joicing in eager welcome. But more often 

 we first come upon a flock of them scratch- 

 ing in a wood path, among the fallen 

 leaves, their handsome plumage harmon- 

 izing so well with the fall landscape that 

 they seem the very spirit of September. 

 When thus disturbed, they show little 

 fear. They fly deliberatelv to the alder 

 trees overhead, alighting on the larger 

 branches. Occasionally one shows his 

 interest by uttering a low, soft piik as we 

 pass, but usually the whole flock is silent, 

 watching the intruders with a calm dig- 

 nity worthy of their family. If, however, 

 we attempt a familiarity inconsistent with 

 Thrush etiquette, they withdraw to the 

 privacy of the tall fir trees which they love. 



The Varied Thrushes eat alder and 

 other seeds, and insects uncovered in 

 their scratching; also crumbs and refuse 

 about the dooryards. Winter before last, 

 during an unusually heavy snowfall of 

 eight inches, the Thrushes were regular 

 visitors at our grain table and became 

 quite tame, showing no alarm when we 

 passed within a few feet of them. This 

 same snowstorm, which killed so many 

 birds in all the northern states, may have 

 caused the death of many Varied Thrushes 

 less fortunate than our visitors, for last 



winicr the birds were more scarce than 

 thev have been for years. They flisaj)- 

 peared from our neighborhood altogether 

 in Noxember and diil not return until 

 Februarv 15, and since then they been 

 seen only singly, or in twos or threes. 



In the southern part of Washington, the 

 Varied Thrushes mingle freely with the 

 Robins, which winter there in large num- 

 bers. In some parts of the state they are 

 summer residents. I have seen them in 

 Julv in the Cascade mountains, at an 

 elevation of about 600 feet, and have 

 heard their song in August at the snow- 

 line, 8,000 feet above sea-level. During 

 the summer of 1906, the song was often 

 heard in the fir forest near Everett at tide- 

 water, but we were unable to discover 

 whether or not the birds nested there. 



Mr. Fuertes has described the song of 

 the Varied Thrush as he heard it in Alaska. 

 He says it is " most unique and mysterious, 

 and may be heard in the deep, still spruce 

 forests for a great distance, being very 

 loud and wonderfully penetrating. It is 

 a single, long-drawn note, uttered in sev- 

 eral different keys, some of the high- 

 pitched ones with a strong, vibrant trill. 

 Each note grows out of nothing, swells to 

 a full tone, and then fades away to noth- 

 ing, until one is carried away by the mys- 

 terious song." 



We hear the song very frequently through 

 the fall and winter months, but it is not so 

 musical at that time as is the singing of 

 the spring season. The birds sing often 

 at sunset and occasionally through the 

 busy hours of daylight, but seem to love 

 best the early morning hours, singing to 

 perfection in the first gray light of dawn. 

 It matters not to them whether the air 

 be clear and frosty, or heavy with rain and 

 fog. The call is repeated from one tall 

 fir top to another, sometimes clear and 

 high-pitched, sometimes low, but always 

 with that indescribable quality which 

 '•makes one thrill with a strange feeling," 

 to (juote Mr. Fuertes. It seems to e.xpress 



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