290 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



June 



For the New England Farmer. 

 THE BIBDS OP NEW ENGLAND — No. 12. 

 THRUSHES. 



Wilson's Thrush or Teery— Mocking Bird — Brown Thrush — 

 Cat Bird. 



The Veert, or Wilson's Thrush, (Turdus 

 Wilsonii, Bonap.,) is a common inhabitant of the 

 moist woodlands and dense solitary swamps of 

 many parts of New England, and is said to inhab- 

 it the whole United States, and northward to the 

 57th degree of latitude ; and in all this extensive 

 region is rarely met with in other than quite re- 

 tired situations. Here, "especially after sunset," 

 to quote the well-chosen words of an agreeable 

 writer in the Atlantic Monthly, (December, 1858,) 

 "he pours forth his brilliant and melancholy 

 strains with a peculiar cadence, and fills the whole 

 forest with sound. It seems as if the echoes 

 were delighted with his notes, and took pleasure 

 in passing them round with multiplied reverbera- 

 tions. I am confident this bird refrains from 

 singing when others are the most vocal, from the 

 pleasure he feels in listening either to his own 

 notes or to the melodious responses which others 

 of his own kindred repeat in different parts of 

 the wood. Hence he chooses the dusk of evening 

 for his vocal hour, when the little chirping birds 

 are mostly silent that their voices may not inter- 

 rupt his chant. At this hour during a period of 

 nine or ten weeks, he charms the evening with 

 his strains, and often prolongs them in still 

 weather till after dusk, and whispers them sweet- 

 ly into the ear of night." Likewise at the early 

 hour of dawn he welcomes the rising sun with his 

 enchanting song, and through the gloomy days 

 •when the murky clouds distil their refreshing 

 moisture upon the thirsty earth, and most song- 

 sters are mute, his melody enlivens the dripping 

 woods ; in the brightness and fervor of midday 

 he is generally quite silent. The song of the 

 Veery is peculiarly attractive and beautiful, com- 

 posed of many trilling, liquid notes, hard to de- 

 scribe, yet warbled out in such a succession as to 

 perfect harmony and captivate the ear. 



The Thrush is quite shy, especially while en- 

 gaged in song, and is seldom seen outside of the 

 woods. It builds its nest on or very near the 

 ground, of withered leaves, fibrous roots and 

 grass, and lays four or five eggs, precisely like 

 those of the Cat-Bird in shape and color. It ap- 

 pears regularly from the South in considerable 

 numbers early in May, and retires in September. 



This species is ten inches in length and twelve 

 in extent. Color above, tawny brown ; beneath, 

 white, tinged slightly with ash under the wings ; 

 breast, cream color, marked with pointed spots 

 of dark brown. 



In the genus Orpheus of Swainson, are placed 

 several of the American Thrushes, differing from 

 the tree Thrushes in their more elongated form, 

 chiefly produced by the comparatively greater 

 length of the tail, and in the shortness of the 

 wings. The MociaNG Bird (Orpheus poli/glottus, 

 Swain.,) is probably the most remarkable in the 

 extent and variety of his vocal powers, of all mu- 

 sical birds ; besides having a song of its own 

 rarely equalled, it possesses the power of imitat- 

 ing the notes of all other birds with surprising 



accuracy, and even the peculiar cries of quadru- 1 deer. Blue Jay, Martin, Baltimore, and twenty 

 peds, and the creaking of inanimate objects. It I others, succeed with such imposing reality, that 



is a bird peculiar to the continent of America and 

 its adjacent islands, and inhabits a large breadth 

 of country, being found on both sides of the equa- 

 tor, from Brazil in the southern hemisphere 

 northward to the States of New England in the 

 northern. In the southern parts of the United 

 States they are resident, as Wilson observes, and 

 appear half domesticated and familiar, while in 

 the Northern States they are migratory and quit* 

 shy. To the north of the Delaware river they are 

 said to be much less numerous than to the south- 

 ward of that river ; many pairs, however, ar» 

 found to breed in the State of New York, a few 

 in Rhode Island and Connecticut, and they more 

 rarely stray into the southern part of Massachu- 

 setts. Two pairs of these birds took up their res- 

 idence in Springfield in the summer of 18G0, and 

 have been previously known to breed within the 

 limits of this city. The Mocking Bird generally 

 builds in a low tree or bush, often, it is said, in 

 the immediate vicinity of man. A nest that I dis- 

 covered in this vicinity, last June, was placed in 

 a thick pine bush, {Pinus rigida,) about four feet 

 from the ground, and nearly a mile from any hu- 

 man residence. It was composed outwardly of a 

 considerable mass of dead, coarse pine twigs, 

 neatly lined with fine, dark brown fibrous roots, 

 the whole forming a considerable mass of upwards 

 a foot in diameter. The three eggs it contained 

 were of a pale, ashy blue color, marked with 

 specks and blotches of brown. The nest and 

 eggs, with both the old birds, were secured as a 

 rare prize, and are now carefully preserved in a 

 cabinet. 



The Mocking Bird is occasionally seen in the 

 Northern States in cages, and in a state of con- 

 finement astonishes and amuses all listeners with 

 its admirable and precise imitations of all the 

 feathered songsters within hearing. "In his do- 

 mesticated state," says Wilson, in his original 

 and inimitable description of this bird, "when he 

 commences his career of song, it is impossible to 

 stand by uninterested. He whistles for the dog — 

 Caesar starts up, wags his tail, and runs to meet 

 his master. He squeaks out like a hurt chicken 

 — and the hen hurries about with hanging winga 

 and bristled feathers, clucking to protect her in- 

 jured brood. The barking of the dog, the mew- 

 ing of the cat, the creaking of a passing wlw;el- 

 barrow, follow, with great truth and rapidity, lie 

 repeats the tune taught him by his master, though 

 of considerable length, fully and faithfully. He 

 runs over the quiverings of the Canary, and the 

 clear whistlings of the Virginia Nightingjule, or 

 Red-Bird, with such superior execution and effect 

 that the mortified songsters feel their own inferi- 

 ority, and become altogether silent, while he 

 seems to triumph in their defeat by redoubling 

 his exertions. 



"This excessive fondness for variety, however, 

 in the opinion of some, injures his song. His el- 

 evated imitations of the Brown Thrush are fre- 

 quently interrupted by the crowing of Cocks ; 

 and the warblings of the Blue Bird, which he ex- 

 quisitely manages, are mingled with the scream- 

 ings of Swallows, or the cackling of Hens ; and 

 amidst the simple melody of the Robin, we are 

 suddenly surprised by the shrill reiterations of 

 the Whip-poor-will ; while the notes of the Kill- 



