22 BULLETIN 2 



The Swainson or olive-backed and the hermit songs end 

 on a higher pitch than the beginning and consist of more 

 distinct tones, not as rapidly delivered or run together. 



The wood thrush sings with a clear and flute-like quality, 

 now lower, now higher, and intersperses low blackbird-like 

 clucks not audible at a little distance. Its song suggests the 

 syllables "eo-lee," or "Come to me." The hermit's song 

 consists of distinct phrases, no two successively on the same 

 pitch and each pausing on the first note of the phrase, then 

 ascending upward. Some of these phrases are pitched so 

 high as to be scarcely musical to the human ear, while 

 others are a beautiful contralto. The olive-backed's song 

 most resembles the hermit's except that it does not pause 

 on the first note, and the successive phrases are usually on 

 the same key-note. 



I do not know how much a musical notation of these 

 songs may help to identify them. I have found it helpful to 

 do this, and others have the same habit. In the hope that 

 these notes jotted down the past two seasons may be help- 

 ful to some one else, I offer them to you now. But before 

 giving them I beg to say that it is utterly hopeless to at- 

 tempt to reproduce these upon the piano. Much bird music 

 certainly does have a definite pitch and sequence of tone, 

 which to a musically trained mind is capable of reproduc- 

 tion in written notes, but to reproduce the tones with any 

 instrument of difi^ering quality is absolutely impossible, and 

 is not the intention of those who try to write them. The 

 notation is merely to convey some idea of the range and in- 

 tervals of the bird notes, to aid the memory in placing the 

 song, just as a photograph recalls a face but cannot repro- 

 duce its vivacity and coloring. 



The nearest approach to imitation can be obtained by the 

 human whistle, but that is frequently an insult to the bird. 



