There is no sound of the western woods more subtle, more mysterious, more 
thrilling withal, than this passion song of the Varied Thrush. Somber depths, 
dripping foliage, and the distant gurgling of dark brown waters are its fitting 
accompaniments ; but it serves somehow to call up before the mind’s eye the un- 
scaled heights and the untried deeps of experience. It is suggestive, elusive, and 
whimsically baffling. Never colorless, it is also never personal, and its weird 
extra-mundane quality reminds 
one of antique china reds, or re- 
calls the subdued luridness of 
certain ancient frescoes. More- 
over, this bird can fling his 
voice at you as well from the 
tree-top as from the ground, 
now right. now left, the while 
he sits motionless upon a branch 
not fifteen feet above you. 
Fantastic and varied as is 
this single note which is the 
Thrush’s song, it may be fairly 
reproduced by a_ high-pitched 
whistle combined with a vocal 
undertone. At least, this imi- 
tation satisfies the bird, and it 
is possible to engage one after 
another of them in a sort of 
vocal contest in which curiosity 
and jealousy play unquestioned 
parts. Sometimes the Thrush’s 
note is quite out of reach, but 
as often it descends to low 
pitches, while now and then it 
is flatted and the resonance 
crowded out of it, with an in- 
describable effect upon the lis- 
tener, somewhere between ad- 
miration and disgust. At other 
times a trill is introduced, 
which can be taken care of by a 
Taken in Rainier National Park. Photo by W. L. Dawson. trained palate, in addition to the 
Ta ERS vocal sound and the whistle. 
In a unique degree the Varied Thrushes are found thruout the forest 
depths. Given tall timber and plenty of it, the precise altitude or location are 
