14 LIFE-HISTORIES OF BIRDS 



agreeable gushing- tinkling notes which greet the 

 ear from the tallest tree tops, long before the sun 

 has arisen in the East. The same delicious strains 

 are re-assumed a little before, sunset, and pro- 

 longed for more than an hour with scarce an in- 

 termission. It is the males who are thus occupied, 

 doubtless, with the view of attracting their partners 

 who have not yet arrived from their Southern 

 homesj; for it must be born in mind that the former 

 precede the latter by several days. This song 

 continues in all its vigor until mating is accom- 

 plished, when it measurably diminishes. 



Writers on ornithology have spoken of this 

 Thrush as being of a shy and retired nature. In 

 the latest work on North American birds, instances 

 are cited where the species has displayed consider- 

 able confidence in man by building in close prox-- 

 imity to his habitation. For several years past 

 we have noticed greater predilection for the busy 

 haunts of life, that for more sequestered situations. 

 As time progresses, the species will become more 

 eminently social and trustful. The current of 

 events is tending in this direction. In thickly- 

 wooded regions there is still a prevalence of this 

 same feeling. 



Besides the haunts of man, dense forests, the 

 outskirts of thickets, and borders of waste fields 

 are noted places of resort. We have never known 

 individuals to nidificate "in low damp forests, 

 shaded by large trees," as affirmed by the writers 

 previously alluded to. 



