MAY BIRDS. 45 



brown-thrush, from which he has received 

 in some quarters the name of the " planting- 

 bird," is much less marked in the song of 

 the cat-bird. On the whole, the thrasher 

 must be judged to be much the finer singer, 

 though the cat-bird's song is much sweeter 

 than is generally supposed. The brown- 

 thrush, the largest of all the thrushes, is a 

 very conspicuous, long-tailed bird, with 

 bright reddish-brown plumage, but is much 

 less neighborly than the cat-bird, generally 

 preferring the more retired woods and pas- 

 tures. This bird is now in his glory, and 

 it is almost impossible to go out into the 

 country without hearing him on every side. 

 In a little more than a month he will have 

 become silent. Of the song of this bird 

 Bradford Torrey writes: "His song is a 

 grand improvisation. Such power and 

 range of voice ; such startling transitions ; 

 such endless variety; and withal such 

 boundless enthusiasm and almost incredible 

 endurance ! " 



Nearly allied to the brown-thrush, though 

 of a different genus, are the wood-thrush, 



