151 
my hand before she started from the nest. Without a cry of distress she disappeared in the. 
shrubbery and noiselessly returned when I had stopped. Strange to say, the male did not make his. 
appearance in the neighbourhood of the nest. 
“In Wisconsin the Wood-Thrush prefers to build in young white pine and hemlock copses. 
Here the structure is usually from four to eight feet from the ground, close to the trunk on a. 
horizontal branch. 
* Like all species of the genus, the Wood-Thrush is one of the most useful of birds. Тһе bulk 
of its food consists of insects, especially of all kinds of worms, caterpillars, grasshoppers, &c., which 
it looks for on the ground. It eats all kinds of berries too, especially such as grow in its bushy home. 
The young are fed with insects only. The male assists its mate but little in building the nest, and 
does not help at all in brooding. Не has to participate actively, however, in bringing up the young. 
As there is only one brood in the North in a season, the young are under the protection of the 
parents long after they have left the nest. The whole family seems to keep regularly together till 
the time for their migration. Then a few families from the neighbourhood collect, and some time 
between the middle and latter part of September they all start off on their journey southward. 
“ They appear in the coast-region of Texas, according to my own observations, in great numbers 
by the beginning of October, at the time when the cones of the Magnolia grandiflora glow invitingly 
with their wealth of beautiful vermilion aromatic seeds. ‘The flesh of these Thrushes is said to 
acquire a peculiarly delicious flavor from this fruit, on which account many thousands are annually 
killed by the creoles of Louisiana, where these and other species of this family, as well as the Towhee 
Bunting, are commonly called * grassets.' ” 
Mr. Stearns has an interesting note on the species in his ‘New England Bird Life’ :—“ The 
favourite localities of the Wood-Thrush are the borders of dense thickets, or low damp hollows 
shaded by large trees, yet its habits are by no means so retiring, or its nature so timid, as these 
places of resort would lead us to infer. А small grove in Roxburg, now a part of Doston, in close 
proximity to a dwelling-house, was for many years the favourite resort of these birds, where several 
pairs nested and reared their young, rarely even leaving their nests, which were mostly in low bushes, 
wholly unmindful of the curious children who were their frequent visitors. The same fearless 
familiarity was observed at Mount Auburn, then first used as a public cemetery. But in the latter 
instance the nest was always placed high up on a branch of some spreading tree, often in a 
conspicuous place, but out of reach. Mr. J. A. Allen refers to several similar instances where the 
Wood-Thrush did not show itself to be such a recluse as many describe it. Іп one case a pair built 
their nest within the limits of a thickly-peopled village, where there were but few trees and a scanty 
undergrowth. In another a Wood-Thrush lived for several successive summers among the elms and 
maples of Court Square in the City of Springfield, Mass., undisturbed by the passers-by or the walkers 
beneath, or the noise of the vehicles in the contiguous streets. 
“The song of this Thrush is one of its most remarkable and pleasing characteristics. No lover 
of sweet sounds can have failed to notice it, and, having once known its source, no one can fail to 
recognize it when heard again. Тһе melody is one of great sweetness and power and consists of 
several parts, the last note of which resembles the tinkling of a small bell, and seems to leave the 
conclusion suspended. Each part of its song seems sweeter and richer than the preceding. 
“The nest is usually built on the horizontal branch of a small forest-tree, six or eight feet from 
the ground, and, less frequently, in the fork of a bush. Тһе diameter is about 5 inches, and the 
depth 31, with a cavity averaging 3 inches across by 2] in depth. They are firm, compact structures, 
chiefly composed of decayed deciduous leaves, closely impacked together, and apparently thus 
combined when in a moistened condition, and afterwards dried into a firmness and strength like 
that of parchment. These are intermingled with, and strengthened by, а few dry twigs, and the 
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