Dec. 15, 1882.] 
AND OOLOGIST. 
187 
does it but scanty justice. To my ear it is 
by far tlie finest song we hear in these 
Northern woods, and fully deserves the 
seemingly exaggerated title of “glorious,” 
given it by some modern writers. The 
Winter Wren is his nearest rival and he 
startles the listener into admiration by the 
perfect torrent of sweet harmonies, of 
brilliant passages and marvellously execu¬ 
ted trills, he hurls u 2 aon the stillness of the 
forest solitude in which he delights to 
roam; but, beautifi;! and joyous as his 
song is, in comjaarison with the song of 
the Hermit Thrush it sounds mechanical, 
and more like an air from a music box. 
The music of the Hermit never startles 
you ; it is in such perfect harmony with the 
surroimdings it is often passed by unno¬ 
ticed, but it steals upon the sense of an ap- 
jweciative listener like the quiet beauty of 
the sunset. Very few persons have heard 
him at his best. To accomplish this you 
must steal uja close to his forest sanctuary 
when the day is done, and listen to the 
vesper hymn that flows so gently out uj:)on 
the hushed air of the gathering twilight. 
You must be very close to the singer or 
you will lose the sweetest and most tender 
and pathetic passages, so low are they ren¬ 
dered—in the merest whispers. I cannot, 
however, agree with Ylr. Burroughs that 
he is more of an evening than a morning 
songster, for I have often observed that 
the birds in any given locality will sing 
more frequently and for a longer period in 
the morning than in the evening. I prefer 
to hear him in the evening, for there is a 
difference ; the song in the morning is 
more sjirightly—a musician would say 
“has greater brilliancy of exjjression”— 
and lacks the extreme tenderness of the 
evening song, yet both have much the same 
notes and the same “hymn-like serenity.” 
The birds frecpiently render their matinal 
hymns in concert and the dwellers in a 
grove will burst out together in one full 
chonis, forming a grander Te J)eum ,—more 
thrilling—than is voiced by surpliced choir 
within cathedral walls. On one occasion 
an Iiuhan hunter after listening to one of 
these choruses for a time said to me, 
“ That makes me feel queer.” It was no 
slight influence moved this red-skinned 
stoic of the forest to such a sjjeech. The 
song of the Olive-backed ranks second in 
comjiosition but he has the sweetest and 
most mellow voice of the three. The 
Veery disjilays the least musical ability yet 
his simple strain is exceedingly j^leasant to 
the ear and his beautiful voice exhibits 
most strongly that iieculiar resonant metal¬ 
lic tone which is characteristic of the genus. 
I have not attem 2 )ted to reju’esent these 
songs by words or notes, for all such ex¬ 
periments as I have seen, ajqiear to me to 
be failures. Neither the words of Dr. 
Brewer or Mr. Samuels, nor the syllables 
used by Ylr. Ridgway or Mr. Gentry con¬ 
vey to my mind the idea of the songs of 
the birds that is inq:)ressed on my memory; 
and after a i^atient rehearsal of the notes 
of Mr. Horsford's score on jnano, violin 
and flute I fail to recognize the melodies 
he has attemjited to write. Perhaps Mr. 
Horsford will say that, as I do not live in 
“ a white jiine coimtry,” I can know nothing 
about these Thrushes, and I certainly do 
not if his article m Forest and Stream* is 
to be taken as evidence of whaTis correct. 
Besides then- songs the three sj^ecies have 
call notes and two or three minor notes, 
used chiefly when a mated jiair are together. 
The alarm note of the Olive-backed, which 
Mr. Ylinot thinks sounds like “ whit,” and 
which he calls “the ordinary note” of the 
bird, is seldom used excejit the bird has a 
nest near the intruder. I think the soimd 
would be better re 2 )resented by “kwut” 
very abru 2 :)tly and quickly uttered, with a 
peculiar enqihatic intonation. But the 
songs and notes of all birds must be heard 
to be understood and a 2 i 2 )reciated.— 31. 
Cfmmherlahi, St. Jo/iri, F. B. 
*Pr()f. HorHford's writings on onr Thrushes first appeared 
in “ Fatniliar Sciencp.'’' published by us. We also engraved 
the music. Other of our articles appeared in Forest and 
Stream as original. 
