uvnr rally on a bush or low tree. 



The bird note second in prominence is the wonder- 

 Fully limpid music of the hermit thrush. The song 

 nines nearly always from a thicket or from the dense 

 prim hive forest. 



To me it suggests the syllables: ''Oreeo, reeo ree- 

 zee-zee." However, one must listen to it in the early 

 morning or in the. gloam of the evening to hear the 

 music and Feel the thrill in the breast of this shy 

 forest songster. 



Tn the summer of 1917, the hermits were so num- 

 erous near my camp that I heard as many as six at 

 one time. 



It is only through good luck or patient waiting that 

 one may see the hermit sing. lie is so shy that, if 

 you try to stalk him ever so carefully, he withdraws 

 farther and farther into the forest at your approach. 



The nest is built on the ground, often near a trail. 

 It is generally lined with pine needles, which make a 

 most effective background for the peacock blue of 

 the eggs. 



In some parts of the forest, especially in tamarack 

 swamps and in poplar thickets on low ground, the 

 veery or Wilson thrush is common; and its weird, 

 woodsy song is one of the impressive summer sounds. 



"Veery, veery, veery, veery" it rings from some in- 

 visible perch. To my ear the syllables, "Reer, reer, 

 reer, reer," suggest the song more accurately. 



F tried for several seasons to see this musician in 

 net ion, but always in vain. At last the singer took 

 pity on me. I was cutting tent stakes one evening 

 <>n the shore of Lake Bemidji. A bird alighted on a 



23 



