18 Oldys, The Singing of Veeries. [j^_ 



fortunate as to have noted several verifications of this prediction, 

 the first as recently as May 19, 1915. I was at Rhinebeck, N. Y., 

 at the charming home of Mr. Maunsell S. Crosby, an enthusiastic 

 student of bird life. In the late afternoon, as we were standing 

 beside a large pond (or small lake) on his place, our attention was 

 attracted by the singing of a Veery. Other Veery songs had greeted 

 our ears, but this one particularly excited our interest because of 

 its containing a short phrase with a closing trill. We had listened 

 but a moment or two when it became evident that this shorter 

 phrase occurred with regular frequency, following two other phrases, 

 which differed from each other slightly and had each its fixed place 

 in the song. 



On our making this discovery I directed my efforts toward 

 obtaining an exact record of the song. It is extremely difficult 

 to record all the minor notes of a Veery or a Hermit Thrush, and the 

 record I secured is not perfect in this respect. It shows, however, 

 the principal notes — those that give the song its character — and 

 is sufiiciently correct to represent the phrases substantially as 

 they were sung. The following is the record I made: 



fi. , m^m 1 | t^Tf tji; ; |t£rfT| 



All the notes were given with the Veery 'burr,' which I have 

 indicated by the wavy lines above them. "While I listened the 

 song was repeated fifteen or twenty times and, so far as I observed, 

 without variation. 



The proximity of the dinner hour compelled a suspension of my 

 study of the song sooner than I should have wished ; but I contented 

 myself with the hope that I might have an opportunity to resume 

 the study on the following morning before breakfast. In this I 

 was disappointed, for although Mr, Crosby and I were on the 

 scene very early the next morning, the bird remained absolutely 

 silent during our entire stay in the vicinity. Perhaps it had passed 

 on to the north. 



No further opportunity presented itself for investigation of 

 Veery music until a lecturing trip for the University of Minnesota 



