

THRUSHES, BLUEBIRDS, ETC. 493 



acter, but, while the Hermit is the more gifted performer, the Wood 

 Thrush does not suffer by the comparison. His calm, restful song 

 rings through the woods like a hymn of praise rising pure and clear 

 from a thankful heart. It is a message of hope and good cheer in the 

 morning, a benediction at the close of day: 



The flutelike opening notes are an invitation to 

 his haunts ; a call from Nature to yield ourselves to 

 the ennobling influences of the forest. Come to me. 



1910. WEYGANDT, C., Cassinia, 21-27 (biography). 



756. Hylocichla fuscescens fuscescens (Steph.}. VEERY. Ads. 

 Upperparts, wings, and tail nearly uniform cinnamon-brown, not so bright 

 as in the Wood Thrush; center of the throat white; sides of the throat and 

 breast with a delicate tinge of cream-buff, spotted with small wedge-shaped 

 spots of nearly the same color as the back; belly white ; sides white, with only 

 a faint tinge of grayish. L., 7'52; W., 3'84; T., 2'87; B M '53. 



Remarks. The Veery's distinguishing characters are (1) its uniform 

 cinnamon-brown upperparts; (2) its delicately marked breast; and (3) partic- 

 ularly its almost white sides. The Wood Thrush has the sides heavily spotted, 

 and the other Thrushes have this part more or less strongly washed with 

 grayish or brownish. 



Range. E. N. Am. Breeds in lower Canadian and Alleghanian faunas 

 from n. Mich., cen. Ont., Anticosti, and N. F., s. to n. Ills., n. Ind., n. Ohio, 

 and n. N. J., and in the Alleghanies to N. C. and n. Ga.; winters in n. S. A. 



Washington, common T. V., Apl. 26- June 2. Aug. 18-Sept. 25. Ossin- 

 ing, common S. R., Apl. 29-Sept. 5. Cambridge, locally abundant S. R., 

 May 8-Sept. 5. N. Ohio, common S. R., Apl. 20-Oct. 1. Glen Ellyn, toler- 

 ably common, T. V., Apl. 24-May 29; Aug. 26-Sept. 3. 



Nest, of strips of bark, rootlets, and leaves, wrapped with leaves and 

 lined with rootlets, on or near the ground. Eggs, 3-5, greenish blue, of the 

 same shade as those of the Wood Thrush, '88 x '65. Date, Ossining, N. Y., 

 May 26; Cambridge, May 28; Farmington, Maine, June 2. 



The Veery's home is in low, wet, rather densely undergrown wood- 

 lands. He is a more retiring bird than the Wood Thrush; he lives nearer 

 the ground and is less likely to leave the cover of his haunts. For this 

 reason, even in localities where both are equally common, the Wood 

 Thrush is more frequently observed. 



The Veery's call-notes are a clearly whistled whee-o or whee-you, the 

 first note the higher, and a somewhat softer too-whee or teweu, with the 

 first note lower, all of 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 syllables vee-r-r-hu repeated eight or nine times around a series of 

 intertwining circles, the description may enable you to recognize the 

 Veery's song. 



The Veery has a double personality, or he may repeat the notes of 

 some less vocally developed ancestor, for on occasions he gives utter- 

 ance to an entirely uncharacteristic series of caching notes, and even 

 mounts high in the tree to sing a hesitating medley of the same un- 

 musical cacfcs, broken whistled calls, and attempted trills. Fortunately, 

 this performance is comparatively uncommon, and to most of us the 



