The Birds and Poets 159 



yank" which usually tells us of their presence 

 before we see them. No other bird makes the same 

 noise, and once it is heard the bird may be easily 

 located and observed indefinitely for he is usually 

 too much interested in his own business of feeding 

 on small insects to pay any particular attention to 

 any observer. The nuthatch character seems 

 wholly devoid of all sentiment, and yet with all his 

 matter-of-fact ways, the white-breast cannot with- 

 stand the surging influences of spring, and at this 

 season he raises his voice in a peculiar monotone 

 which Dr. Chapman describes as "a tenor hah-hah- 

 hah-hah-hah, sounding like mirthless laughter." 



As for the thrushes, if one will but go to the quiet 

 woods in early September and sit for a few 

 moments among the underbrush which they so 

 greatly love, he is more than likely to see two or 

 three varieties stealthily hopping about and shyly 

 peeping out from the protecting foliage. Among 

 the more or less common migrants may be men- 

 tioned the willow, the gray-cheeked, the olive- 

 backed, the Wilson's or veery and the hermit. 

 The first three named are quite similar in general 

 appearance, the colors of their plumage running 

 more into the grays, drabs, and olive, but the her- 

 mit is easily distinguished by his bright brown tail, 

 and the veery is more uniformly cinnamon brown. 

 Accurate identification of the other varieties is not 

 always easy, even with the aid of the most helpful 

 bird books, unless the bird is shot, and as for me 

 I would rather be possessed of doubts than possess 



