THE HERMIT THRUSH 49 



place. Still, it is necessary to show the nature 

 of this superb songster's preeminence, and that 

 can only be done by comparing his style with 

 that of other birds. ... In the vales of Tus- 

 cany, Italy, one of the best places in Europe 

 to hear the nightingale sing (possibly excepting 

 the banks of the Volga, in Russia), there is am- 

 ple opportunity to listen to the exquisite trills 

 and solemn overtones of that famous bird, but 

 an experienced ear will not discover in the song 

 anything like the melody of the hermit thrush. 

 . . . There is nothing the wood thrush can 

 do which will compare with a performance like 

 this. I am sorry to disagree with the opinions 

 of several writers on ornithology who find cer- 

 tain restrictions in the hermit's song, and think 

 the notes are not remarkable for variety or 

 volume, but it seems to me the magnitude of 

 this thrush's melodic ability, not to speak of 

 his brilliant execution, is beyond the concep- 

 tion of any one until he devotes at least three 

 or four seasons to a studied analysis of the 

 music. Some of the notes possess sufficient 

 volume to be distinctly heard at a distance of 

 a quarter of a mile, yet unless one is within 

 thirty feet, or less, of the singer, it is impos- 

 sible to catch the tout-ensemble of the song, 

 or to gauge the extent of its melodic variety. 



