Song Birds and Water Fowl 
latter more distant and harmlessly aristocratic ; 
somewhat more refined in their nature, too, 
which both justifies and even compels a certain 
measure of reserve. ‘The robin is the bird for 
every day; the thrush for state occasions. To 
me, the veery is one of the most tantalizing of 
all birds—as disobliging in his performances as 
a spoiled pvima donna. Potentially he may be 
equal to the wood thrush, but practically he is 
quite inferior. It may be too severe a criticism 
to call him half-hearted in his art, but a little 
absent-minded he certainly seems to be, with 
that soliloquizing, soffo voce sort of strain which 
is the foretaste of what never comes; like the 
cardinal grosbeak’s preamble. It would be a 
great mistake if all our songsters were as vocif- 
erous as the whippoorwill, as ecstatic as the 
wren, or as gushing as the goldfinch. Occa- 
sional reserve and melancholy form a cool, dark 
background that enhances all the warmer, 
brighter tints in nature’s symphony. One la- 
menting pewee is an incomparable blessing to 
all other songsters in the neighborhood. And 
yet, in listening to the Wilson thrush, one must 
feel that he would like to spur him on a little, 
just to test his full capacity for once, and see 
what he might do under the impulse of a really 
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