122 FAMILIAR FEATURES OF THE ROADSIDE. 



parison. The hermit thrush is a musician, but the 

 little chipping sparrow has no music in his soul 

 beyond what we may discover in his lisping chip. 

 Some of the birds have most remarkably vigorous 

 voices, which, musical or unmusical, we are pretty 

 sure to hear at no very great distance from the 

 highway. 



The first of these is the golden-crowned thrush 

 (not a thrush at all but a warbler), or ovenbird 

 (Seiurus aurocapillus). He is about six 

 inches long. His back is brown-olive, ]iis 

 crow r n subdued golden - orange edged 

 by black stripes, his breast and 

 sides are streaked with black, 

 and his under parts are dull 

 white. 



The golden - crowned 

 thrush has an em- 



Golden-crowned Thrush. phatic and SOine. 



what hysterical 



voice, which slightly resembles the loud swishing 

 sound oj a stout whip as it is lashed back and forth. 

 What he says seems to be : 



"Queecher, Queecher, QUEECHER, QUEECHER, QUEECHER, 

 QUEECHEK." 



But although these notes are far from musical, they 



