THRUSHES, BLUEBIRDS, ETC. 493 
acter, but, while the Hermit is the more gifted performer, the Wood 
Thrush does not suffer by the comparison. His calm, restful song 
rings through the woods like a hymn of praise rising pure and clear 
from a thankful heart. It is a message of hope and good cheer in the 
morning, a benediction at the close of day: 
The flutelike opening notes are an invitation to ES 
his haunts; a call from Nature to yield ourselves to + #— 
the ennobling influences of the forest. Come to me. 
1910. WryGanpt, C., Cassinia, 21-27 (biography). 
756. Hylocichla f is f (Steph.). VWusry. Ads.— 
Upperparts, wings, and tail nearly uniform cinnamon-brown, not so bright 
as in the Wood Thrush; center of the throat white; sides of the throat and 
breast with a delicate tinge of cream-buff, spotted with small wedge-shaped 
spots of nearly the same color as the back; belly white; sides white, with only 
a faint tinge of grayish. L., 7°52; W., 3°84; T., 2°87; B., °53. 
Remarks.—The Veery’s distinguishing characters are (1) its uniform 
cinnamon-brown upperparts; (2) its delicately marked breast; and (3) partic- 
ularly its almost white sides. The Wood Thrush has the sides heavily spotted, 
and the other Thrushes have this part more or less strongly washed with 
grayish or brownish. 
Range.—E. N. Am. Breeds in lower Canadian and Alleghanian faunas 
from n. Mich., cen. Ont., Anticosti, and N. F., s. to n. Ills., n. Ind., n. Ohio, 
and n. N. J., and in the Alleghanies to N. C. and n. Ga.; winters inn. 8. A. 
Washington, common T. V., Apl. 26-June 2. Aug. 18-Sept. 25. Ossin- 
ing, common 8. R., Apl. 29-Sept. 5. Cambridge, locally abundant S. R., 
May 8-Sept. 5. N. Ohio, common §S. R., Apl. 20—-Oct. 1. Glen Ellyn, toler- 
ably common, T. V., Apl. 24-May 29; Aug. 26-Sept. 3. 
Nest, of strips of bark, rootlets, and leaves, wrapped with leaves and 
lined with rootlets, on or near the ground. Eggs, 3-5, greenish blue, of the 
same shade as those of the Wood Thrush, ‘88 x ‘65. Date, Ossining, N. Y., 
May 26; Cambridge, May 28; Farmington, Maine, June 2. 
The:Veery’s home is in low, wet, rather densely undergrown wood- 
lands. He is a more retiring bird than the Wood Thrush; he lives nearer 
the ground and is less likely to leave the cover of his haunts. For this 
reason, even in localities where both are equally common, the Wood 
Thrush is more frequently observed. 
The Veery’s call-notes are a clearly whistled whée-o or whée-you, the 
first note the higher, and a somewhat softer t60-whee or tewett, with the 
first note lower, all of which can be closely imitated. His song is a 
weird, ringing monotone of blended alto and soprano tones. Neither 
notes nor letters can tell one of its peculiar quality; it has neither break 
nor pause, and seems to emanate from no one place. If you can imagine 
the syllables vee-r-r-hu repeated eight or nine times around a series of 
intertwining circles, the description may enable you to recognize the 
Veery’s song. ; 
The Veery has a double personality, or he may repeat the notes of 
some less vocally developed ancestor, for on occasions he gives utter- 
ance to an entirely uncharacteristic series of cacking notes, and even 
mounts high in the tree to sing a hesitating medley of the same un- 
musical cacks, broken whistled calls, and attempted trills. Fortunately, 
this performance is comparatively uncommon, and to most of us the 
