THE WOOD THRUSH 89 



of the season, I suspect, had failed in a more se- 

 cluded place under the hill; so the pair had come 

 up nearer the house for protection. The male 

 sang in the trees near by for several days before 

 I chanced to see the nest. The very morning, I 

 think, it was finished, I saw a red squirrel ex- 

 ploring a tree but a few yards away ; he prob- 

 ably knew what the singing meant as well as I 

 did. I did not see the inside of the nest, for it 

 was almost instantly deserted, the female having 

 probably laid a single egg, which the squirrel 

 had devoured. 



One evening, while seated upon my porch, I 

 had convincing proof that musical or song con- 

 tests do take place among the birds. Two wood 

 thrushes who had nests near by sat on the top 

 of a dead tree and pitted themselves against each 

 other in song for over half an hour, contending 

 like champions in a game, and certainly affording 

 the rarest treat in wood-thrush melody I had 

 ever had. They sang and sang with unwearied 

 spirit and persistence, now and then changing 

 position or facing in another direction, but keep- 

 ing within a few feet of each other. The rivalry 

 became so obvious and was so interesting that I 

 finally made it a point not to take my eyes from 

 the singers. The twilight deepened till their 

 forms began to grow dim ; then one of the birds 



