THE BIRD OF SOLITUDE. 19 



does love the woods, but, being a remarkably 

 intelligent bird, he is not shy, and unreasoning 

 fright is unknown to him. He will let you ap- 

 proach quite near, fixing his soft, bright eyes 

 upon you without agitation, to learn whether 

 your object be peace or war. If you pause at 

 a respectful distance and remain quiet, he will 

 resume his song, undisturbed. 



Then the position he selects is favorable to 

 concealment. The robin and oriole pour out 

 their melodies from the topmost twig of the 

 tallest tree, in plain sight of all the world, and 

 the cat-bird, while choosing the deepest seclu- 

 sion of a shrub, keeps so constantly in motion 

 that he cannot escape discovery. The thrush 

 does neither. He perches upon a branch, rarely 

 a twig. It is often the lowest branch of a tree, 

 and quite near to the trunk. In several years 

 of close study of the thrush, following the song 

 and watching many singers, I have but once 

 seen one sing at the top of a tree, though it is 

 true that my observations were usually in the 

 broad daylight ; for the evening song it is pos- 

 sible that he may select a higher position. 



The secret of hiding, which his inconspicu- 

 ous coloring as well as his position aid, is his 

 habit of repose. He has no frivolous flirt of 

 the tail, like the cat-bird ; no jerking body, like 

 the robin ; no incessant twitter, like the hosts 



