THE TOWNSEND SOLITAIRE. 



227 



ur trifiids tin- ht-auU' 

 \ hird cif such 

 It alsi 1 winters 

 <-■ sliotilil a\'i)i(l 



i"(Kid cut near Rcnloii, altitude 200 feet. We (lescril)e t 



of its song — tliey go to its sanctuaries and the l)ird is silent 



dainty mould should winter in the South. It does, — at time 



at Sumas on mir northern Ixirdef. This poet of the sulitnde 



the haunts of men. lie dues. 



usually. But anntlier time he 



may be seen hopping frum hush 



to log in a suburban swamp, or 



moping under the edge of a 



new sidewalk. Indeed, I once 



saw a Solitaire flutter up from 



under a passenger coach, as it 



lay in station. He had ha])- 



pencd to spy some bread 



crumbs and there was nothing 



to hinder save the conductor's 



bri.sk "all aboard." Surely such 



a bundle of contradictions you 



never did see — and all l)elied by 



an expression of lamb-like art- 



le.ssness and dolcc far iiiriilc. 



which \\onl(l do credit to a 



rag-doll. 



All observers testify to the 

 vocal powers of the Solitaire. 

 and some are most extravagant 

 in the bird's praises. My own 

 notes are very meager. .A song 

 lieanl on Church Mountain, in 

 Whatcom County, AIa\- 12, 

 1905. is characterized as "a 

 dulcet strain of varied notes. 

 It reminds one .strongly of the 

 Sage Thrasher, but it is some- 

 what less impetuous." In view 

 of this meagerncss, I \-cnture 

 to f|uiite at length two older ac- 

 counts, now hidden away in 

 volumes not easily accessible. Dr. J. .S. Newberry first encountered the Soli- 

 taire in the canon of the M])tolyas River, at the l)ase of Mount JelTerson (Or.), 

 and declared its song to be full, rich, and melodious, like that of a Miiniis^ 



TOWNSEXn'S SOI.rr.MRE. 



Rep. Pac, R. R. Su 



Vol. VI., 1857, p. 82. 



