WAYS OF NATURE 
to look upon, from my neighbor’s field where they 
obtained the material, to the tree that held the nest. 
A gentle, gliding flight, hurried but hushed, as it 
were, and expressive of privacy and loving preoccu- 
pation. The male carried no material; apparently 
he was simply the escort of his mate; but he had an 
air of keen and joyous interest. He never failed to 
attend her each way, keeping about a yard behind 
her, and flying as if her thought were his thought 
and her wish his wish. I have rarely seen anything 
so pretty in bird life. The movements of all our 
thrushes except the robin give one this same sense 
of harmony, — nothing sharp or angular or abrupt. 
Their gestures are as pleasing as their notes. 
One evening, while seated upon my porch, I had 
convincing proof that musical or song contests do 
take place among the birds. Two wood thrushes 
who had nests near by sat on the top of a dead tree 
and pitted themselves against each other in song 
for over half an hour, contending like champions in 
a game, and certainly affording the rarest treat in 
wood thrush melody I had ever had. They sang 
and sang with unwearied spirit and persistence, 
now and then changing position or facing in another 
direction, but keeping within a few feet of each 
other. The rivalry became so obvious and was so 
interesting that I finally made it a point not to take 
my eyes from the singers. The twilight deepened 
till their forms began to grow dim; then one of the 
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