BIRDS 
65 
1 have known one to sit for hours in 
the upper branches of a tall Maple in an 
opening in a remote wood, and sing till 
all other birds seemed as if pausing to 
listen. Attempting to approach him at 
such times, I have called to my aid nu¬ 
merous devices,—such as keeping the 
range of a tree, skulking close to the 
ground, carrying a large bush in front of 
me,—but all to no purpose. Suddenly 
the strain would cease, and while waiting 
for him to commence again, 1 would see 
him dart off to a lower tree, or into a 
thick undergrowth of Witch-Hazel. 
When I had withdrawn, he would re¬ 
sume his perch and again take up his 
song. At other times 1 have come 
abruptly upon him while singing on a 
low stump, without his seeming to notice 
me at all. 
1 think his song, in form and manner, 
is precisely that of the Wood-Thrush,— 
differing from it in being more wild and 
ethereal, as well as stronger and clearer. 
It is not the execution of the piece so 
much as the tone of the instrument that 
is superior. In the subdued trills and 
