on four well-known Thrushes of North America. ioi


“ one attains to in liis best moments. It realises a peace and a

“ deep solemn joy that only the finest sonls may know.”


Mr. Nehrliug writes:—“The highly interesting Hermit

“ Thrush might be called the ‘ May-Blossom ’ of our birds. Its

“ charms are manifold, but the enthusiastic observer and lover

“of birds is rarely able to penetrate the solitude of its swampy

“ northern woodland home.”


Dr. Hatch, in his ‘Birds of Minnesota,’observes:—“My

“ earliest personal observation of the time of its arrival in the

“ vicinity of where I reside was April 5, 1875. It seldom sings

“immediately after its arrival, but in due time those which

“ remain to build nests overflow with the ebullition of fervid

“ melodies.


“ I have often listened to the delicious notes, which in my

“ ear are in no way inferior to those of the Wood-Thrush. I am

“ not surprised that those who have heard him for the first time

“should be ready to exalt him higher than the other in the scale

of song, when I remember the associations amid which they are

“ found.


“The silence, the delicious solitude of this clioristry under-

“ neatli the shadows of the grand leaf-canopied forest, awaken

“ feelings, sentiments, and inspirations, eminently calculated to

“ lend enchantment to his liquid silvery bell-toned notes.”


The nest of the Hermit Thrush is always built 011 the

ground, another connection of similitude to the habits of our

Nightingale, generally under low bushes in swampy places.


American ornithologists are inclined to the idea that this

bird’s song is, in its own peculiar way, not inferior to that of the

Nightingale. There is one interesting fact to remember with

regard to the songs of the North American birds compared with

those ot Europe, which is that whilst many are continuous in

their strains, the great majority of their American cousins sing

in separated strophes, with very distinct pauses between each

one.


It remains to be proved whether the graceful and charming

little Hermit Thrush will live well in captivity or not.


Wilson’s Thrush ( Turdus fuscesccns ) known also as “ The

Veery,” and the “ Tawny Thrush ” is very much like the Hermit



