THE BROWN THRASHER, 



{Harporhynchiis ritfzis ) 



In June, on yonder wooded hill, go sit 



Beneath the leaf trees, where, overhead, 



The Brown-Thrush, playful, taunts the farmers' toil. 



Thomas Hill, "Hymn of the Seasons." 



These sly and plainly though elegantly 

 dressed songsters are frequenters of the 

 underbrush at the borders of thickets, 

 bushy growths or patches of timber in 

 open fields, of hedges and shrub-covered 

 rail-fences, and, to some extent, of the 

 undergrowth further within the forest : 

 but the Brown Thrashers do not like to 

 remain too deep in the shade of the for- 

 est, too far from the cheering influence 

 of the sunshine. The merry song of the 

 male would seem to indicate the joy giv- 

 ing influence of the warm, light diffusing 

 rays of the sun. His song is more spir- 

 ited, continuous and joyful in the dawn- 

 ing hours of day, and in the twilight 

 moments when quiet seems to reign 

 stipreme. He greets the dawning day 

 and bids the sun good bye at night from 

 a favorite and conspicuous perch in the 

 upper, and usually exposed, branches of 

 a tree. He, at such times, abandons him- 

 self to song, and, while he seems con- 

 scious of his power, his utterances can 

 only be likened to the overflowing of a 

 happy nature. The song is sincere. Who 

 does not remember the lines of the nur- 

 sery poem of our younger days? 



"There is a merry Brown Thrush sitting up 



in a tree; 

 He is singing to me! He is singing to me! 

 And what does he say, little girl, little boy? 

 'Oh, the world's running over with joy!'" 



We recall the words of the ornitholo- 

 gist Wilson, who says : 'Tn the months 

 of April and May, when our woods, 

 hedge-rows, orchards, and cherry trees, 

 are one profusion of blossoms, when 

 every object around conveys the sweet 

 sensations of joy and Heaven's abund- 

 ance is, as it were, showering around us, 

 the grateful heart beats in unison with 

 the varying, elevated strains of this ex- 

 cellent bird ; we listen to its notes with a 

 kind of devotional ecstacy, as a morning 



hymn to the great and most adorable 

 Creator of all." 



Is the Brown Thrasher proud of his 

 song? "What a magnificent aria he 

 sings !" He is certainly conscious of his 

 ability. He seems to invite attention as 

 he stands with head uplifted; his bill 

 opened wide ; his body vibrating as if in 

 unison with his emotions, and his droop- 

 ing tail moving in harmony with his 

 utterances. Magnificent as is his song, 

 his consciousness, to the minds of some 

 hearers, seems to detract from its high 

 character. Mr. Chapman says that there 

 is a 'lack of spontaneity about it which 

 makes it appeal to the mind rather than 

 to the heart." His voice is full, power- 

 ful, stirring and uttered as if from a 

 happy soul. In his notes, there is the 

 ''gladness of the open air, the jubilant 

 boasting of a soul untamed." While the 

 Brown Thrasher is often called a mock- 

 ingbird, his power of mimicry is limited 

 and is not often exercised. Indeed, it i? 

 a question if he ever attempts to copy 

 the songs of other birds. The brilliancy 

 of his song, however, is fully, compara- 

 ble to that of the mockingbird, and is 

 said to be the equal of that prince of 

 songsters, the European song thrush. 



The range of the Brown Thrashers is 

 quite extensive, as it extends throughout 

 North America east of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, and froin Texas and Florida north- 

 ward to Ontario and Manitoba. In the 

 winter, they remain chiefly south of Illi- 

 nois and Virginia. Were it not for the 

 song of the males these birds would be 

 easily overlooked in their green-bowered 

 retreats, and their song season lasts for 

 only a short time. Their voices are 

 heard, in their greatest perfection, during 

 the period of courtship and nesting, after 

 which time they are heard less and less 

 frequently and finally cease singing alto- 

 gether some time in Tune. Even during 



'07 



