WOOD THRUSH. 



31 



Wood Thrush thrill through the droppmg woods, from moriimg 

 to night; and it may truly be said that, the sadder the day the 

 sweeter is his song. 



The favorite haunts of the Wood Thrush are low, thick-shaded 

 hollows, through which a small brook or rill meanders, overhung 

 with alder bushes that are mantled with wild vines. Near such a 

 scene he generally builds his nest, in a laurel or alder bush. Out- 

 w^ardly it is composed of withered beech leaves of the preceding 

 year, laid at bottom in considerable quantities, no doubt to pre- 

 vent damp and moisture from ascending through, being generally 

 built in low wet situations ; above these are layers of knotty staliis 

 of withered grass, mixed with mud, and smoothly plastered, above 

 which is laid a slight lining of fine black fibrous roots of plants. 

 The eggs are four, sometimes five, of a uniform light blue, without 

 any spots. 



The Wood Thrush appears always singly or in pairs, and is 

 of a shy retired unobtrusive disposition. With the modesty of true 

 merit he charms you with his song, but is content and even solici- 

 tous to be concealed. He delights to trace the irregular windings 

 of the brook, where by the luxuriance of foliage the sun is com- 

 pletely shut out, or only plays in a few interrupted beams on the 

 glittering surface of the water. He is also fond of a particular spe- 

 cies of licheil which grows in such situations, and which, towards 

 the fall, I have uniformly found in their stomachs ; berries, how- 

 ever, of various kinds, are his principal food, as well as beetles and 

 caterpillars. The feathers on the hind head are longer than is 

 usual with birds which have no crest ; these he sometimes erects ; 

 but this particular cannot be observed but on a close examination. 



Those who have paid minute attention to the singing of birds 

 know well, that the voice, energy and expression, in the same tribe, 

 differ as widely, as the voices of different individuals of the human 

 species, or as one singer does from another. The powers of song 

 in some individuals of the Wood Thrush have often surprized and 



