300 BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



but nevertheless is expressive and sweet, resembling that of 

 the robin, though not so clear and strong. From May to 

 August it sings all day without ceasing, never oppressed by the 

 severest heat ; at every short suspension of its song, it moves 

 up and down the branches, searching every bud and blossom, 

 and peeping under the leaves. The cloudy weather, which is 

 so depressing to most birds, has no effect upon the red-eye ; he 

 sings as cheerfully in the dark afternoon as in the brightness 

 of the rising sun, seeming to hold a perpetual festival, and 

 quenching his thirst with the drops of dew. 



The nest of the red-eye is suspended at various elevations, 

 but never so high above the ground as that of the warbler. It 

 is more particular in lining it than in building. The materials 

 of the nest are miscellaneous ; the lining is of fibrous roots, 

 pine leaves, and strings of the bark of vines, disposed in beauti- 

 ful order. In it are three or four eggs, white, with spots of 

 brown at the larger end. The red-eye is an attentive parent, 

 and for this reason perhaps, the cow-bird often chooses it as 

 the nurse of its young. The eyes of the young birds are 

 brown, and do not become red till the following spring. A 

 species alluded to in Audubon's description .of the red-eye, as 

 resembling it, but quite distinct, and which he promises to de- 

 sciibe in his fourth volume, is, as Dr. Brewer informs me, 

 sometimes seen in our state. 



The Mocking-bird, Turdus polyglotttis, is rarely seen in 

 Massachusetts. The broAvn thrush is sometimes mistaken for 

 it by careless observers, and that fine bird, though not an im- 

 itator, at least to any great extent, has a depth, sweetness and 

 variety of song which even the far-famed mocking-bird cannot 

 exceed- 



The Brown Thrush or Thrasher, Tardus rufus, must be 

 regarded as the finest of our singing birds. It is also very 

 common, though not as familiar as some others. From the 

 time of its arrival, about the first of May, it may be seen, on 

 the high twig of some tall tree, pouring out its soul in a full 



