WOOD THRUSH. 113 



other bird, the clear notes of the Wood Thrush thrill through 

 the dropping woods, from morning to night; and it may truly 

 be said that, the sadder the day the sweeter is his song. 



The favourite haunts of the Wood Thrush are low, thick 

 shaded hollows, through which a small brook or rill meanders, 

 overhung with alder bushes that are mantled with wild vines. 

 Near such a scene he generally builds his nest, in a laurel or al- 

 der bush. Outwardly it is composed of withered beech leaves 

 of the preceding year, laid at bottom in considerable quanti- 

 ties, no doubt to prevent damp and moisture from ascending 

 through, being generally built in low wet situations; above 

 these are layers of knotty stalks of withered grass, mixed with 

 mud, and smoothly plastered, above which is laid a slight lin- 

 ing of fine black fibrous roots of plants. The eggs are four, 

 sometimes five, of a uniform light blue, without any spots. 



The Wood Thrush appears always singly or in pairs, and is 

 of a shy retired unobtrusive disposition. With the modesty of 

 true merit he charms you with his song, but is content and even 

 solicitous to be concealed. He delights to trace the irregular 

 windings of the brook, where by the luxuriance of foliage the 

 sun is completely shut out, or only plays in a few interrupted 

 beams on the glittering surface of the water. He is also fond of a 

 particular species of lichen which grows in such situations, and 

 which, towards the fall, I have uniformly found in their sto- 

 machs; berries, however, of various kinds, are his principal 

 food, as well as beetles and caterpillars. The feathers on the 

 hind head are longer than is usual with birds which have no 

 crest; these he sometimes erects; but this particular cannot be 

 observed but on a close examination. 



Those who have paid minute attention to the singing of birds 

 know well, that the voice, energy, and expression, in the same 

 tribe, differ as widely, as the voices of different individuals of 

 the human species, or as one singer does from another. The 

 powers of song in some individuals of the Wood Thrush have 

 often surprised and delighted me. Of these I remember one, 

 many years ago, whose notes I could instantly recognize on en- 



VOL. II. P 



