Veery. Wilson's Thrush. Tawny Thrush 



Until this little bird arrives, I feel as the audience do 

 at a concert before the chief singer appears, while the 

 other performers are vainly endeavoring to soothe them 

 by their inferior attempts. 



FLAGG. A Year With the Birds. 25 



The veery's usual call-note is a clearly whistled wheeu, 

 which can be closely imitated; his song is a weird, ringing 

 monotone of blended alto and soprano tones. Neither 

 notes nor letters can tell one of its peculiar quality; it 

 has neither break nor pause, and seems to emanate from no 

 one place. If you can imagine the syllable vee-r-r-hu 

 repeated eight or nine times around a series of intertwining 

 circles, the description might enable you to recognize 

 the veery's song. 



CHAPMAN. Handbook of Birds. 21 



Hold a stiff beech-leaf at right angles to your lips, and 

 whistle softly a series of descending whee-u, whee-u, whee- 

 whee-u's, and you will get a little of the reed-like quality 

 and phrasing of the veery's song. 



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



It is one of the simplest strains to be heard as simple 

 as the curves in form, delighting from the pure element 

 of harmony and beauty it contains, and not from any 

 novel or fantastic modulation of it, thus contrasting 

 strongly with such rollicking, hilarious songsters as the 

 bobolink. 



BURROUGHS. Wake Robin. 5 



159 



