428 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



men, and is shy. It was a long time before I en- 

 joyed the sight of one of these birds though often 

 on the look-out. Wilson, remarking upon the 

 difference in the richness of the notes of the 

 Wood thrushes, says, "I remember one bird, 

 whose notes I could recognize on entering the 

 woods where it dwelt. It usually perched among 

 the topmost boughs of the white oak of a glen, 

 where it poured out its sweet and rich melody, to 

 which I often listened until night-fall, till the 

 fire-flies began to sparkle about me. But alas, in 

 the pathetic language of the poet — 



"One morn I raisseil him on the accustomed hill. 

 Along the vale and on his favorite tree — 



Another came, nor yet beside the rill, 

 Nor up the glen nor in the wood was he." 



I was never more charmed by these songsters 

 than one night preceding the Fourth of July, sev- 

 eral summers since, when my friend, Mr. French, 

 allowed me to tarry with him on Mount Holyoke 

 over night, where, in the deep glens and gorges 

 of that mountain range, the Wood thrushes 

 seemed to be at home, both at late eve and early 

 dawn. Mr. Kingsley's exquisite organ-playing 

 in Northampton on the Sunday following that 

 night, was not to be compared with the vocal 

 concert I enjoyed in that retired retreat. 



The notes of this song-bird have been rendered 

 as follows : eh rhehu 'vrhehu, then varied to 'eh 

 villia villia, eh villia vrhehu, then eh vein villiu, 

 high and shrill, clear, flowing and silvery as a 

 sweet-toned bell. Said the late Dr. Peabody, 

 "of all the voices of summer, there is none so 

 thrilling, particularly when heard as the shadows 

 of night are falling, and amid scenes of deep re- 

 pose." 



It builds its nest a little above the ground upon 

 a shrub or bush, and like the robin, T. migrato- 

 rius, uses mud in the structure thereof. The 

 eggs, four or five, very nearly resemble those of 

 the robin, being of a greenish blue, and free from 

 spots. 



The Hermit thrush. Tardus solitarius, of Wil- 

 son, T. palassii, of Cabanis, T. Swainsonii, of 

 Audubon, Bonaparte and Brewer, T. minor, of 

 Gmelin and Nuttall, Merula soUtaria, of Swain- 

 son and Vieillot, is of light olive brown above 

 and of buff below, marked with spots of olive 

 brown, and is about 7^ inches long. Superficial 

 observers have often pronounced it a variety of 

 the Wood thrush. The habits and appearance of 

 the Hermit thrush somewhat resemble those of 

 the Wood thrush. It lives wholly in the woods. 

 It has a low, musical note, not remarkable for 

 richness or sweetness of quality. 



It builds its nest a little above the ground, on 

 the branch of a tree or shrub, and lays four or 

 five eggs of a greenish blue, marked toward the 

 large end with specks and blotches of olive. 



Wilson's thrush or Veery, Tardus Wilsonii, of 

 Bonaparte and Nuttall, T. minor, of Gmelin, T. 

 mustelinus, of Wilson, T. fuscescens, of Stephens 

 and Gray, and Menda minor, of Swainson, is of 

 a reddish-brown on the head and neck, beneath 

 whitish, marked with spots of lightish brown. 

 Length about 7^ inches. This species is known 

 from the others by the indistinctness of the spots 

 beneath ; and like the preceding species it is 

 fond of solitude. It is frequently seen along the 

 borders of woods, and brooks covered with 

 shrubs, also in bush pastures of old fields. It is 



most musical at early dawn and after sundown. 

 Its notes are soft and -silvery, and exceedingly 

 pleasant to the ear of one of a pensive turn of 

 mind. They come very far short, however, of the 

 richness of the melodious notes of the Wood 

 thrush. The notes of Wilson's thrush have been 

 written as follows : 'vehu, 'v'l-ehu, 'v'rehii ; some- 

 times vea vea, 'vrehu 'vreha, vehu, running up till 

 they become shrill and quick at the close in the 

 first phrase, but from high to low, and terminat- 

 ing slender and slow in the latter ; another vari- 

 ation seems to be 've vea, vehurr, ascending like 

 a whistle. The song of another has been ex- 

 pressed by the following phrases ; 've 'villill 'tul- 

 lull 'tullal ; repeated with variations ; ve villillil 

 villill, villill ; then, villilill villilill, tidlilill tull- 

 ilill, the whole delivered in a silvery, shrill, hol- 

 low sound, being very agreeable to ears attuned 

 to Nature's harmony. Occasionally he utters a 

 note represented by the words, queah, queah, and 

 at other times y'eow, y'eow, may be heard. 



This species builds a nest in a low shrub or 

 bush, and the female lays four or five eggs of a 

 greenish blue, without spots, resembling the eggs 

 of a cat-bird. A pair commonly raises two broods 

 in a season. 



The Olive-backed thrush, Tardus solitarius, of 

 Wilson, T. olivaceus, of Giraud, T. Minor, of 

 Gmelin and Vieillot, and T. Swainsonii, of Ca- 

 banis, is distinguished from the foregoing species 

 by the uniform dull olivaceous shade of its upper 

 parts, its throat and breast being more reddish 

 than the others which have been named. Its 

 length is about 7 inches. This species is quite 

 common, but as it possesses no extraordinary 

 qualities nothing further need be said here of its 

 general appearance or song. 



Besides the species named there are the Gold- 

 en-crowned thrush or oven-bird, the Ferruginous 

 thrush or brown thrasher. Tardus rvfus, the 

 American robin, T. viigratorius and the Cat-bird, 

 T.fclivox. These have all, however, been re- 

 moved from the genus Tardus, except the robin, 

 by later ornithologists. 



I have thus attempted briefly to present 

 some views which observation and acquaintance 

 with these birds, their habits and songs, have fur- 

 nished me. I do not claim to have learned out 

 on this subject, but trust that in the main the 

 views here presented will be found to correspond 

 with Nature. If the translator has failed to give 

 a literal rendering of this section of the great 

 volume of Natural History, let the errors be 

 pointed out and the emendations furnished for 

 the benefit of the readers of the Farmer. 



Adolphds. 



vermont state faik. 

 The Eleventh Annual Exhibition of the Ver- 

 mont State Agricultural Society will be held at 

 Rutland, on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and 

 Friday, September 10, 11, 12 and 13, 18G1. We 

 think our friends in Massachusetts and New 

 Hampshire may make a profitable and pleasant 

 visit to Rutland on this occasion. They will find 

 the Vermonters intelligent in their business and 

 hospitable at their homes. Those M'ho have not 

 visited that section of New England will find a 

 look at the scenery, farms, &c., quite as agreeable 



