e 
166 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 
of Indian corn, in planting time. This may be partly true; but, for 
every grain of maize he pilfers, I am persuaded he destroys five 
hundred insects, particularly a large dirty-colored grub, with a 
black head, which is more pernicious to the corn, and other grain 
and vegetables, than nine-tenths of the whole feathered race. He 
is an active, vigorous bird, flies generally low, from one thicket to 
another, with his long, broad tail spread like a fan; is often seen 
about brier and bramble bushes, along fences ; and has a single note 
or chuck, when you approach his nest. In Pennsylvania, they are 
numerous, but never fly in flocks. About the middle of September, 
or as soon as they have well recovered from moulting, in which they 
suffer severely, they disappear for the season. In passing through 
the southern parts of Virginia, and south as far as Georgia, in the 
depth of winter, I found them lingering in sheltered situations, 
particularly on the border of swamps and rivers. On the Ist of 
March, they were in full song round the commons at Savannah, 
as if straining to outstrip the Mocking-bird, that prince of feathered 
musicians. 
«The Thrasher is a welcome visitant in spring, to every lover of 
rural scenery and rural song. In the months of April and May, 
when our woods, hedge-rows, orchards, and cherry-trees, are one 
profusion of blossoms ; when every object around conveys the sweet 
sensations of joy, and Heaven’s abundance is, as it were, showering 
around us,—the grateful heart beats in unison with the varying, 
elevated strains of this excellent bird: we listen to its notes with 
a kind of devotional ecstasy, as a morning hymn to the great and 
most adorable Creator of all. The human being who, amidst such 
scenes, and in such seasons of rural serenity and delight, can pass 
them with cold indifference, and even contempt, I sincerely pity ; 
for abject must that heart be, and callous those feelings, and de- 
praved that taste, which neither the charms of nature, nor the 
melody of innocence, nor the voice of gratitude or devotion, can 
reach. 
“Concerning the sagacity and reasoning faculty of this bird, my 
venerable friend, Mr. Bartram, writes me as follows: ‘1 remember 
to have reared one of these birds from the nest, which, when full 
grown, became very tame and docile. I frequently let him out of 
his cage, to give him a taste of liberty. After fluttering, and dusting ° 
