372 
The Ohio Naturalist. 
[Vol. Ill, No. 4, 
mine the pitch with considerable accuracy. With regard to the 
long opening notes I speak with great confidence for I took 
down a long series on two oc- 
casions and found the pitch 
unchanged. From these obser- 
vations I determined that the 
thrush used phrases in the fol- 
lowing keys. I heard no 
others and never detected any 
flatting or sharping. It will be noticed that these keys form 
part of the scale of A flat major. In this, and in fact in the 
whole song, the approximation to the human scale was striking. 
The hermit’s song consisted, nine times out of ten, in a regu- 
lar alternation of low with high phrases. Two in succession on 
or near the same level he never in my hearing gave, but he would 
sometimes ascend or descend through a series of three different 
keys. There was no fixed order nor any necessary key relation 
between successive phases. I have long lists of such and am 
certain that the bird uttered his theme in whatever key suited his 
fancy so long as it was not a repetition of the theme just uttered. 
For example, one series began with a low B flat followed by a high 
A flat, then a middle F, then an upper B flat, then dropped to low 
A flat, soared up two octaves to high A flat, dropped to middle B 
flat, then down to low E flat. This continual alteration of key 
was the most striking thing about the hermit’s song, apart from 
its regularity and accuracy of pitch. It suggested somehow the 
orchestral handling of a theme by a musical composer, and made 
it beyond comparison more interesting as a performance than the 
simple repetitions of the olive backed thrush, or the endless 
variety of the thrasher. 
The utterance of the theme was for all the lower forms distinct 
and without portamento. Now and then, although rarely, the 
bird gave his triplet or quadruplet notes a vibratory “ trill,” and 
in the very highest phrases the distinctness of vocalization was 
much diminished. The bird’s voice never broke on its highest 
notes but his enunciation became somewhat indistinct, although 
never to such an extent as to disguise the form of his theme. 
The voice of the hermit thrush was made individual by over- 
tones giving it a considerable richness and penetration and even 
a metalic burr or buzz. It suggested somewhat the reed-quality 
of the oboe superadded to a flute’s open tone. Direct comparison 
was possible only with the piano, a bugle and a flute, and need- 
less to sa3 r , it was far closer to the last named, but very much 
more vibrant, less hollow. The “burr” was audible at short 
ranges only. At a hundred yards or less it blended to give the 
voice a singularly ringing metalic quality which gave it a carry- 
ing power unapproached by any other bird of that region. It 
