MAY BIRDS. 47 



different from the rest of the song that it 

 seems to the listener to proceed from some 

 other bird. The wood-thrushes, more than 

 any other birds I know of, exhibit various 

 degrees of excellence, some individuals 

 singing much more beautifully than others. 

 The song of this bird is, perhaps, more 

 likely than that of any other to attract the 

 notice of the uninitiated, and is usually set 

 down, by such as a most remarkable and 

 noteworthy phenomenon, though the wood- 

 thrushes are really among the most abund- 

 ant of our birds. 



The song of the Wilson's thrush, or 

 veery, is beautiful for its very simplicity, 

 and of all birds' songs may most truly 

 be called spiritual. It consists of a repeti- 

 tion of the words ve-ee-ry, ve-ee-ry, ve-ee-ry, 

 or che-u-ry, che-u-ry, che-u-ry, introduced or 

 followed by two or three clear, melodious 

 whistles. Two very remarkable things 

 about this song are its arpeggio quality, as 

 if it were accompanied by some rare musi- 

 cal instrument, and its ventriloquistic ef- 

 fect. You will sometimes discover a veery, 



