BIRDS OF NEW YORK 519 



The song of the Wood thrush has been admired by all naturalists 

 since the days of Wilson and Audubon. He sings from the date of his 

 arrival until July and sometimes as late as the middle of August. Chapman 

 describes the song as " calm and restful, ringing through the woods like 

 a hymn of praise pure and clear from a thankful heart ; the flutelike opening 

 notes are an invitation to his haunts, a call from nature to yield ourselves 

 to the ennobling influences of the forest." He says the opening notes 

 sound like the words "Come to me." Others syllabize his notes as " ee-o- 

 lee." The song is peculiarly rich and organlike in quality. Some birds, 

 however, rest for a considerable time between the phrases, whereas others 

 weave them into more of a connected anthem, yet the stately and deliberate 

 method of his phrasing distinguish it readily from those of our other species. 

 Besides the song, it frequently utters sharp call notes sounding like the 

 syllables " pip-pip-pip " and also a shrill " tsee, tsee " as well as a low 

 " tut, tut " similar to the Robin's. 



Hylocichla fuscescens fuscescens (Stephens) 

 Veery 



Plate 1 05 



Turdus fuscescens Stephens. General Zoology. 1817. 10:182 

 Merula wilsoni DeKay. Zool. N. Y. 1844. pt 2, p. 74 



Hylocichla fuscescens fuscescens A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 3. 1010. 

 p. 359. No. 756 

 fuscescens, Lat., growing dusky, somewhat dark (not very applicable to the Veery) 



Description. Upper parts uniform cinnamon brown; lower parts white 

 strongly tinged on the breast with buffy and lightly spotted with dusky. 



Length 7-7.5 inches; extent 12; wing 3- 8 5-4; tail 3; bill .6; tarsus 1.18. 



Distribution. The Veery breeds from northern Michigan, central 

 Ontario and Newfoundland to northern Illinois, northern Ohio and northern 

 New Jersey, and south in the mountains to northern Georgia, being 

 particularly a bird of the Alleghanian zone. In New York it is a common 

 summer resident of a large portion of the State, rather uncommon on Long 

 Island, but quite universally distributed in the damp forests of the 



