The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-07-23
SONG OF THE WooDTHRUSH..
Still Heard while Others of the Bird Cho-
rus Have Been StiIled.

Still Heard while Others of the Bird Cho-
rus Have Been StiIlpd.
It's full summer in the great parks and up
In the green northern suburbs, but It is no
longer full chorus with the bird orchestra, One
by one the birds have ceased to sing and busted
themselves with prosaic cares. The brown
thrasher ceased almost fortnight ago; the
oriole has hardly been heard since June was in
full leaf: the song sparrow no longer plays his
little fountain Of melody. Even the robin
breaks only now and then into song. and the
catbird and the very are rarely heard.
Indeed. the woodthrush. that most faithful
poet OF the summer. has the suburban audi
ence almost to himself. All through the sea-
son OF mating. house building and Matching
his music continued. and now that the young.
with speckled breast and cinnamon body like
the parents. have gone far beyond their ear
lest lessons in the art of flying the flood of
song is undated. Not a single woodthrush
that sang in June seems to have apsed into
be sde o tbe nnd p t
neighboring orchards and shrubhory four or
lve together. with that mg steal competjtion 80
pecaly dead limb He sings at any time.
hour before aad half an hour after sunset.
When all is said and done the song OF the
the and most sIttTa
variety of the catbirds song and the brown
thrasher's; one is inclined at times to say that
the pure spiral Of the veerv has q Ring quail
ity that not even the wOodthrnsh approaches {;
but any one who has listened year after year
to all the birds comes back ut last to tn" wood
thrush as best Of all. Even the weak and
rather metallic sound Of the interludes, heard
only when the bird Is near the listener. have a
pleasing quality II on no other account than
as shading to the triumphant perfection Of the
rich warbled soprano notes.
recent popular book on birds notes the
semi domestic quality OF the wOodthrush. As
the name implies, he is commonly woodhirh,
and certainly he shuns the noise of cities and
villages but an observer in the northern sub
urbS has been much struck to note tho grow
ing domestcity of the woodthrushes about his
home. When the observer established his
home on the edge Of a considerab Bile woodland
the woodthrushes sang and rested in the wood
land. but were rather shy Of the sh rubbery.
bold and quite as plentiful as the robins. They
strut about the lawn. rest In the shrubbery,
teach their young to fly almost in the open. and
sing within dozen yards of the house.
Well is the woodthrush called also the song
thrush. for he gives his music without stint,
and never tires Of trying after perfection. In
autumn. sweetest of summer memories to tho
suburban is the figure Of the little bird high on
a leafless branch. outlined against the ra!inR
sky while he pours forth melody that seems
rather Of heaven than Of earth. The last red
branches of the woodland. and as the color van
ishes the music is hushed, a tiny object shoot 8
athwart the sky. Twenty degrees above the
horizon. the lace-like outline Of the tree tops
shows against the coorless heavens and. over
head white stars are swarming into view.