JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



15 



sadness and lonesomeness came over 

 me as I sat on the very same stone I 

 had so of I en occupied for a seat to listen 

 to this twilight song, and through the 

 stillness of the twilight hour my 

 thoughts turned back on the past, and 

 many memories came rushing through 

 my mind and I realized many changes 

 had taken place both in the listener, and 

 also in the number of singers that used 

 to participate. Now only one pair could 

 be heard where six or seven years ago 

 several singers could be heard. Their 

 twilight song is a beautiful one, full of 

 sadness, and once heard not likely to be 

 forgotten, yet difHcult to describe. Often 

 I have heard three singers located in 

 different parts of the woods, and one 

 would roll out its song in a modernte 

 tone of voice and would be answered 

 shortly by a second bird not far away, 

 with a similar song on a very low pitch, 

 and a third singer would reply from 

 another direction with the sanie song. 

 sharp and shrill on a higher pitch than 

 the first song. Thus they would keep 

 up their calling and answering each 

 other's song as though trying to see 

 which could pitch the song on the high- 

 est or lowest key. 



This Thrush is often called the Swamp 

 Robin, but in my experience the Wil- 

 son's or Veery would be more properly 

 called by that name. 



I have found the Hermit nesting in 

 the cool shady woods on the side hill, 

 always associating its nests with the 

 maiden-hair and other varieties of the 

 smaller ferns that grow on the side hills 

 in the maple shade or beech wood, while 

 I found the Wilson's in the deep woods 

 or swampy bushes that are lower down 

 and lie along the banks of the streams 



and rivers. As has been noted, the 

 Hermit is becoming scarce while the 

 Wilson's is more common in the last 

 few years. Ten years ago around my 

 home in Franklin county I could locate 

 ten or twelve pairs of Hermits nesting 

 within two miles of home, and only three 

 or foui- of the Wilson's. Now this is 

 nearly the reverse, though I have not been 

 able to account for the increase of the 

 one, or the decrease of the other. There 

 is one thought suggests itself, that per- 

 haps the decrease in the Hermits is be- 

 cause of its nesting as it does in a more 

 open site than the Wilson's, and having 

 more natural enemies, such as Crows, 

 skunks, foxes, etc. (I have often known 

 of nests and eggs of the Hermit that have 

 been destroj^ed by some such animal.) 



The Hermit, with its large, wondering 

 eyes, is a most interesting bird in the 

 autumn, as it scratches noisily among 

 the fallen leaves. Edward A. Samuels 

 mentions the Hermit with words that 

 exactly coincide with my own thoughts 

 of this bird. I will quote them here, as 

 they have run in my mind since I was 

 but a small youth. 'Tnthe fall they are 

 silent and shy ; their note is but a faint 

 chirp, uttered in a listless, melancholy 

 tone; and their whole appearance is in 

 keeping with the great change which 

 has come over the face of Nature. In 

 fact, the Hermit Thrush is always as- 

 sociated in my mind with the falling- 

 leaves, the rattling of acorns, and the 

 whirring of the ruffed grouse through 

 the birches and alders of the swampy 

 oiens." 



The other Thrushes were but little ob- 

 served except the Robin and Bluebird. 

 There was one pair of Robins nested 

 in the high branches of the tulip tree 



