Thrush, Hermit 



The hermit has a distinguishing reddish tail, which it 

 raises and lowers as it gives its characteristic call of chuck. 



Its song is one for which many of nature's devotees 

 make long pilgrimages; and to my mind it excels that 

 of any bird I have ever heard, being, above all others, 

 serene and uplifting. 



FLORENCE A. MERRIAM. Birds of Village and Field. 1 



In full song his voice is rich and sonorous; and a softer 

 tone, which I heard soon after his arrival, was like the 

 finest thread of pure gold. 



PARKHURST. The Birds' Calendar. 31 



It is perhaps more of an evening than a morning hymn, 

 though I hear it at all hours of the day. It is very simple, 

 and I can hardly tell the secret of its charm. "O spheral, 

 spheral!" he seems to say: "O holy, holy! O clear away, 

 clear away! O clear up, clear up!" interspersed with 



the finest trills and the most delicate preludes 



It suggests no passion or emotion, nothing personal, 

 but seems to be the voice of that calm, sweet solemnity 

 one attains to in his best moments. 



BURROUGHS. Wake Robin. 5 



Unrivaled one, the hermit-thrush, 



Solitary, singing in the west. SELECTED. 



Then in that solemn hour I hear 



A hymn that comes so sweet and clear, 



So pure a tone, it seems to be 



A bit of heaven's minstrelsy. SELECTED. 



156 



