on four well-known Thrushes of North America. 107


pleasure of those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, when

the beloved Robins return from the south, and fill the air once

more with their warblings.


I should like to quote again, in conclusion, from Burroughs’

“Wake Robin,” where he writes with regard to these four

Thrushes, and his words are selected from different portions of

his opening chapter “ The Return of the Birds.”


“ If we take the quality of melody as the test, the Wood

“Thrush, Hermit Thrush and the Veery Thrush stand at the

“head of our list of songsters.”


Discoursing upon the talents of the Mocking Bird as a

songster, he continues:—“The emotions excited by the songs

“ of these thrushes belong to a higher order, springing as they do

“ from our deepest sense of the beauty and harmony of the world.


“ The Wood-Thrush is worthy of all, and more than all,

“the praises he has received, and considering the numbers of

“ liis appreciative listeners, it is not a little surprising that his

“relative and equal, the Hermit Thrush, should have received so

“ little notice.


“ It is quite a rare bird, of very shy and secluded habits,

“ being found in the Middle and Eastern States, during the

“ period of song, only in the deepest and most remote forests,

“ usually in damp and swampy localities. O11 this account the

“ people in the Adirondac region call it the ‘Swamp Angel.’ Its

“ being so much of a recluse accounts for the comparative iguor-

“ance that prevails in regard to it. The cast of its song is very

“ much like that of the Wood Thrush, and a good observer might

“easily confound the two. But hear them together, and the

“difference is quite marked: the song of the Hermit is in a

“higher key, and is more wild and ethereal. His instrument

“is a silver horn which he winds in the most solitary places.

“The song of the Wood Thrush is more golden and leisurely.


“The Wood Thrush is the handsomest species of this

“ family. In grace and elegance of manner he has no equal.

“Such a gentle, high-bred air, and such inimitable ease and

“composure in his flight and movement! How plain, yet rich

“his colour,—the bright russet of his back, the clear white of his

“ breast, with the distinct heart-shaped spots !



