158 



THE BROOK BOOK 



To know the thrushes at their best one must 

 not depend on chance inhabitants of orchard or 

 garden. They are more often heard than seen, the 

 wood thrush alone venturing to nest near dwell- 

 ings. In the deep woods, along wild and unfre- 

 quented streams, the 

 shyer veery and her- 

 mit thrush live their 

 secluded lives. 



Among the New 

 Hampshire hills and 

 especially by the side 

 of her clear mountain 

 brooks, the hermit 

 thrush finds a most 

 congenial dwelling. 

 For where are the 

 deep woods deeper, 

 the clear streams 

 clearer than there? 

 Other hermits retire 

 from the busy marts 

 of trade to the moun- 

 tain fastnesses and 

 rest and invite their souls in the rarer atmosphere of 

 the Old Granite State. The hermit thrush is there, 

 and from early July until the end of summer his 

 song may be heard mingling with the music of his 

 chosen stream. One of his ardent admirers writes 

 me of the brook and the bird in glowing terms: 



"The brook comes from a near mountain and 

 wanders tortuously through aisles of dark spruces 



HERMIT THRUSH IN THE MAPLE 



