Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-05-03
This and That
BIZ Charles E. TraceueH.

The wood thrush, official bird of the
District of Columbia, came into our
community April %. The usual date
of arrival is April g.
Usually we hear the bird before we
see it, but this spring it was the other
way around. The first thrush did not
sing at all.
He was hopping along the driveway
toward a large barberry bush. Under
this he spent many minutes. searching
for food
When last seen, he was perched on
the limb of locust, now and then ut
tering a few short sounds, sort of
preliminary to singing.
He never sang, however.
The next day we saw one up in the
next block, close to Connecticut avenue,
and he was singing!
No matter how much one loves this
song, or perhaps because of that, the
first song of the season is an event.
1t was so this time The utter clarity
loud, sweet. correctly in tune with all
nature-this is the wood thrush song
In way, there is no other bird song
quite like it. Even the more elaborate
song of its cousin. the hermit thrush,
sounding in the deep woods. fails to
hold exactly the same outdoors feeling.
x X
Few birds strike the observer as
cleaner.
The tones of red-brown, on back and
sides, the light gray breast, dappled
with f1ecks of black, the neat bill and
intelligent eyes, all contribute to one
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1t will always seem amazing that. this
where it originally lived, has come to
be so at home in the suburban areas.
Surely we do not deserve it.
When we think of man, with all his
cruelties and absurdities, and genuine
lack of intelligence, despite all his pre-
tensions, we may wonder why this fine
bird did not stay in the woods.
Yet here he is, calmly hopping around
beneath shrubbery, intent on getting
his food, cleaning up various insect
pests, raising his young, singing in the
delight of living, and showing us what
life might be if we had as much good
will and common sense as he has
That song is the very crown and per-
lection of his life.
He likes to sing in the evening. The
old song. and fine one it is, II Heard
a Thrush at Eve" is good ornithology
as we'll as good music.
Then he does his best singing, often
in plain sight, usually not more than
10 to 20 feet high. The wood thrush
can and does sing on the ground, at
times, but, like most birds, prefers to
be aloft. He is more at home there.
The wood thrush song is in four parts,
each more or less triolet, with what
seem to be rests between. But if
listener is close enough, he will be able
to hear sundry gutteral sounds in the
intervals.
Amazing as it may seem, these sounds,
while harsh. do not in any way spoil
the main theme. AS matter of fact.
they enhance it. Human musicians
often use the same trick, but the wood
thrush discovered it first. The rest, in
music, especially when long, often
causes nervousness on the part of the
listener. In the old days, famous COM
posers leaned more heavily on the rest
than they tend to do today. We are
too nervous, now, for many rests. The
general rest$ Of the elder composers.
notably Bruckner and Brahms, at times
is very disconcerting. We want some
thing to happen, and each second that
nothing does adds to our discontinue
The wood thrush solved this problem
long time ago by his odd sounds
thrown in between the main phrases of
his song. 1t is such song as gods
might utter, happy and carefree in a
world that made sense.