346 The Veery 



To my mind all such attempts are woefully inadequate. Perhaps the 



best description of its song is that given by Ridgway, who refers to it 



as "an inexpressible, delicate, metallic utterance of the syllables ta-weel- 



ah, twil-ah, iwil-ah, accompanied by a fine trill." The first part of the 



song is louder than the ending in fact the song seems to start off 



with a burst of energy that diminishes before the end of the performance. 



To me the song has always suggested a sort of ethereal trill, as if the 



notes came through a spiral, silvery pipe; there is 



n J^ 1 something suggesting infinite space and vast distance 



in their exquisite quality. Although the song carries 



well, it frequently happens that when one is near the performer, but 



does not see it, he thinks the bird a considerable distance away. 



The Olive-backed Thrush has a song which may be described as a 

 poor imitation of that of the Veery; but once listen to a Veery on a long 

 summer evening and you will never afterward mistake the Olive-backed 

 Thrush for the Veery. 



. This bird knows well how to hide her nest, and unless, perchance, 

 you should see her carrying building-materials, or should discover one 

 of the parents taking food to the young, you are not likely to learn her 

 secret. Probably the majority of nests that are seen are found by 

 flushing the bird from her eggs as the observer makes his way through 

 the woodland. 



On June 18, 1914, I found myself in a good Veery country along 

 the western shore of Lake Champlain. The constant singing of these 

 Thrushes, especially in the early morning and late afternoon and evening, 

 awakened a strong desire to learn more of the private life of these 

 particular birds. Just as you always feel that you know a man better 

 after having seen his home, so do you feel on much more intimate terms 

 with a wild bird after having looked upon the cradle it has built for its 

 young. We are in the midst of the woods and the Veeries were on every 

 side. So I started gaily forth to hunt a nest, but the 



B day ended in failure > as did also the next and the 



next. In desperation I wrote to a very wise gentle- 

 man of my acquaintance and asked him how in the world I was to find 

 a Veery 's nest. 



"It is a very simple matter," he wrote, "if you will keep your eyes 

 open. The nest is always on the ground or very near it. Look at the 

 foot of trees or stumps, especially in growths of young sprouts, on logs 

 or stumps, in thick places or among plants on a steep hillside. Search 

 only in the woods and especially where it is damp." 



I read this and found that I knew just exactly as much as I did before, 

 for I had seen all this in bird-books over and over again. So I thanked 

 him for his kindness and went out into the woods once more. For two 

 or three hours every day for two weeks the search went on, and not the 

 slightest sign of a nest could I find. Yet the Veeries had nests, or had 

 had nests, for during this time I came upon no less than fourteen young, 



