Philohela minor . 
Carlisle, Mass. 
Song . 
1S79. twelve feet of us and went through all his curious notes and 
April 8. motions without apparently regarding my presence in the least. 
As I have already published some very full notes on this 
(No. 2) 
curious love song it will not be necessary here to give any 
other than a few additional points which the better opportu- 
nities of this event recent experiment enabled me to note. 
The article referred to appeared in the American Sportsman, 
vol.1V, p.19. 
When the bird rises into the air its wings whistle stead- 
ily as it mounts in a broad spiral course into the dusky heav- 
ens. The highest point reached is perhaps three or four hun- 
dred feet. It then begins to descend by a series of irregular 
erratic plungings, which produce the effect of dividing the 
whistling 11 into syllables". The whistling is at this period 
especially shrill and loud but is nevertheless unmistakably 
produced by the wings. When about one third of the descent 
is effected the wings are apparently ( i ) set and the birds 
floats evenly and slowly downward line a dusky, ball of thistle 
down. Then begins the vocal music, a succession of soft and 
exceedingly liquid notes which are accelerated as the author 
nears the earth. My original description was perhaps a trifle 
overdrawn but still the song is a beautiful one and if it had 
