SPRING ARRIVAL OF THE BIRDS. 41 



bars in different keys. Longfellow must have had in 

 his mind the wood thrush : 



^' Whose household words are sung in many keys, 

 Sweeter than instruments of man^s ere caught; 

 Whose habitation in the tree-tops even 

 Are half-way houses on the road to Heaven.^' 



The wood thrush, artist that he is, is partial to 

 the upland groves and wooded hillsides. He also seems 

 to love best forests in which beech and maple predom- 

 inate. He is occasionally heard in the city, but at such 

 times the voice is generally a surprise ; it comes to the 

 ear unexpectedly, and the listener is at a loss to place 

 the singer. It is like meeting an old acquaintance 

 whose face one knows so well, but for the instant can- 

 not place. Then follows the delight at the recognition. 

 A year ago I heard one sing on l^iagara Square, 

 in the heart of the city. It was in a spreading elm 

 opposite the " Fillmore House." As I stopped to listen, 

 several other pedestrians came along and halted, also to 

 hear or get a sight of the stranger. This bird of gentle 

 breeding seemed in no way abashed at the sight of the 

 increased audience, and continued to sing until the 

 barking of a dog under the tree disturbed him. One 

 astonished and delighted listener asked me if " it was 

 really a nightingale." I remember another surprise 

 that haunted my mind pleasantly for days after. Early 

 one morning, while sitting on the wall beside the wind- 

 ing and picturesque road that connects Cliff Avenue 

 with the wooded portion of Forest Lawn, I was startled 

 by the gurgling trill, then the clear " chil-a-dee-de," 



