THE OOLOGIST. 



sing us during the month of May (his 

 happiest time) no less than 100,440 solos. 

 If we should undertake to pay him 

 for these poetical productions, even 

 though we gave him no better pay than 

 is rendered for poor spring poetry, viz. 

 a> "penny-a-line," even then we would 

 have a bill on our hands at the end of 

 one short month of $1,004.40. 

 • Had you looked at it in this way be- 

 fore? Had you really considered what 

 a happy, contented little fellow, Den- 

 droica cestiva is? Let us, the next time 

 ■ we meet him, -take off our hat, and ren- 

 der obeisance to one who is always so 

 contented and happy, and with the 

 rememberance of him in our minds let 

 us try, in the words of Pope, to "look 

 through Nature up to Nature's God." 

 Neil Franklin Posson, 



Medina, N. Y. 



Some of Our Thrushes- 



The various members of this interest- 

 ing family of birds, comprising as it 

 does many of our sweetest singers, are, 

 most of them, liable to escape the notice 

 of most casual observers. To the nat- 

 uralist they prove one of the most inter- 

 esting families to study. Commencing 

 with the Wood Thrush, we find him in 

 this vicinity from about May 1st to 

 Sept. 1st, when he moves southward 

 for the winter. 



As you wander through some small 

 woods or close to the outskirts, or clear" 

 ings of larger ones, you see a bird, but 

 little smaller than the robin, rise 

 from the leaves where he has been 

 feeding, perch on the limb of a bush or 

 tree and salute you with a clear ring- 

 ing whistle, the warning note to his 

 mate. You are struck first by the 

 sharp contrast between his nearly pure 

 white breast and the dark brown, al- 

 most black, stripes running in nearly 

 parallel lines the whole leugth of it. if 

 you continue to advance he will flit along 

 before you and soon disappear when 



he thinks he has taken you away from 

 his nest. If he chooses to drop on the 

 ground among the dead leaves, none 

 but the sharpest observer will spy him 

 as the tawney brown of his back har- 

 monizes well with the dead leaves, in 

 fact. I believe the color of the thrush is 

 given him as a protection, as is the case 

 with many other birds. If you look 

 sharp around where you find him, 

 about June 1st, you may see what ap- 

 pears at first to be a robin's nest, but 

 which on closer inspection, you find to 

 contain the mother bird. Now if you 

 think, that like the robin, she will fly off 

 as soon as you approach, and "raise the 

 wind," as the small boy, and sometimes 

 larger one, says, why you are greatly 

 mistaken. She will let you approach 

 until you look clown on her in many 

 cases, and sometimes even let you place 

 yourhand on her. When she does leave 

 the nest she utters a note so mournful 

 and low, you instinctively look for some 

 bird at a distance, but on looking again 

 you see her perched close by, her eye 

 sparkling and alert, but uttering again 

 that plaintive note which seems to en- 

 treat you to leave her treasures; but 

 not so with her lord. At the first note 

 he comes, crest erect, eyes flashing, and 

 uttering a loud but bell-like whistle, as 

 he flits around you, now dashing at you 

 now inspecting his nest, he is the pic- 

 ture of anger, and as you leave him to 

 his mate, you still hear his scolding 

 voice behind you. I could write much 

 more about this bird but must hasten 

 on. 



As we advance deeper into some large 

 wood, we come toa place where it is wet 

 the greater part of the year, the ground 

 is covered with ra^k weeds and small 

 bushes, the soil moist and in some places 

 muddy, the leaves are mostly rotten 

 and mosquitoes abound. But listen, 

 just ahead we hear a low plaintive 

 whistle, where did it come from V 

 Where is the songster ? Soon we hear 

 it again, this time followed by a low 





