BROWN THEASHER 221 



The protective coloring of the Brown Thrasher is 

 perfect ; it remains on the nest until you almost touch it. 

 One actually sat on the eggs and took bread crumbs from 

 my hand, and often left the nest and fed from a shingle 

 covered with crumbs, held near by. But if, for any rea- 

 son, the bird is afraid of you it quickly manifests an- 

 other disposition. When you approach the nest you may 

 not see either bird, yet rest assured that one of the pair, 

 usually the male, is within easy reach and will make its 

 presence known by its positive assertions that you had 

 better depart. If he fails in thus driving you away, he 

 is quickly joined by the female and the pair, with piteous 

 appeals, quickly elicit the sympathy and support of all 

 the birds in their vicinity, all joining in defending the 

 young Thrashers. (Fig. 130.) 



Brown Thrashers make excellent cage songsters, be- 

 coming very gentle and appreciative of good care. But 

 if you do not cage them more people will hear them sing, 

 and their songs will be paeans of glorious freedom. 



We have often heard discussed the question of 

 whether or not a bird is ever charmed by a snake. The 

 following incident actually took place, from which you 

 can form your own conclusions. 



On August 7, 1921, while I was hidden in a wooded 

 ravine, my attention was called to the peculiar actions 

 of a Brown Thrasher. The bird lit on a dead twig, 

 within six inches of the ground. As soon as it lit, 

 it spread its wings as Turkey Vultures or Anhingas do 

 when sunning themselves, its head, neck and body feath- 

 ers closely pressed or flattened to the body. The bird 

 seemed to be perfectly composed and free from fright 

 or anger; its attitude seemed rather that of indifferent 

 and deliberate curiosity. Then it hopped to another limb, 

 within six inches of the first, and assumed the same at- 

 titude as before. All this time not a sound was uttered 

 by the plucky and ordinarily assertive Thrasher. This 

 performance was kept up for fully ten minutes before 

 I focused my field glasses on the scene. The bird was 

 only twenty feet away from my hiding place and I now 

 discovered the object of its apparent mesmeric attrac- 

 tion : a blacksnake, fully five feet long, was slowly crawl- 

 ing away from beneath, within six inches of the Thrasher. 

 The snake paused several times in traveling its length, 



