184 WOOD THRUSH. 
upper parts, faintly spotted breast, and particularly by 
its notes. 
The Veery’s characteristic calls are a clearly whistled 
whée-o or whée-you, the first note the higher, and a some- 
what softer tdo-whee or tewed, in which the first note is 
the lower. Its song is one of the most mysterious and 
thrilling sounds to be heard in the woods. Elsewhere I 
have described it as “a weird, ringing monotone of 
blended alto and soprano tones. ... It has neither 
break nor pause, and seems to emanate from no one 
place. If you can imagine the syllables vee-r-r-hu [or 
vee-ry] repeated eight or nine times around a series of 
intertwining circles, the description may enable you to. 
recognize the Veery’s song.” 
The Wood Thrush is a more southern bird than the 
Veery, breeding from as far south as Florida, north- 
Wood Thrush, | Ward to southern Vermont and Minne- 
Turdus mustelinus. sota. It winters in Central America 
Plate LXXIV. and reaches us in the spring, about April 
30, and remains until October 1. Its nest is built about 
the middle of May, and is generally placed in a sapling 
some eight feet from the ground. The eggs are greenish 
blue. 
The Wood Thrush is not such a recluse as the Veery. 
He is, it is true, a wood lover, and shares with the Veery 
his secluded haunts, but he seems equally at home in 
maples and elms about our houses, or even in the more 
quiet village streets. He is therefore more often heard 
than his mysterious relative, and, as a voice, is familiar to 
many who do not know the singer’s name. 
The call-notes of the Wood Thrush are a liquid guirt 
and sharp pit-pit. The latter is an alarm note, which, 
when the bird fears for the safety of its young, is uttered 
with much increased force and rapidity. It can be closely 
imitated by striking two large pebbles together. 
