Wilson* s 
Tj^u she s 
begin singing 
17 days after 
the f ir st 
arrival and 
9 day s after 
they had 
arrived in 
force 
Whippoorwill was singing in the distance, apparently on 
Davis's Hill, and two Nighthawks passed rather low down, 
hawking for insects. The air was deliciously soft and very 
still. The absence of mosquitos is remarkable. There are 
almost none now although two weeks ago they were very 
numerous. The small black flies have also disappeared. 
Wilson’s Thrushes began singing to-day. I heard 
the first at 9 A. M. on the side of Ball's Hill. Gilbert 
heard another near the cabin about the middle of the after¬ 
noon. At evening there was general and protracted singing 
all around the Hill and in the blueberry swamp behind it, 
at least five or six birds taking part. All of them 
seemed to be in excellent form. Why is it that this species 
remains silent so long after its arrival? I saw the first 
this season on May 2, and by the 10th they were abundant. 
Living, as I do now, in the very midst of their favorite 
haunts, I should have known it had there been any singing 
before to-day. They have called a little at morning and 
evening and uttered the bleating notes but not once have 
I heard the song before this morning. Seventeen days 
is a longer period of silence than usual, however. 
A Partridge drummed all day long on the stone wall 
at the north-east end of Ball’s Hill. Gilbert heard one 
on the 17th in the Blakeman woods but I have not heard any 
drumming before since April 28th. 
