Thrasher SONG-BIRDS.
Ellwanger, near Whose Window one sang early every morn ing, writes: “Nothing could be more delightful than his opening matin song, begun in a dulcet undertone; did I not know from experience his long-drawn crescendo and the frenzy of the finale— a perfect Hungarian ‘Czardus ’ ! Felting him with stones, a pile of which I keep within reach, stops him, as it does my morning nap.”
Granting this even, it simply proves the wit of Nature, to set this merry, rippling jester, this Whirlwind of delightful mockery, as a foil, a companion to the Thrushes with their spiritual melodies. Was it not by the rendering of such contrasts that Shakespeare mirrored Nature in every phase ‘?
Brown Thrasher: Harporhynchus rufus.
PLATE 14.
Length: 11 inches.
Male and Female: Above reddish brown, darker on wings. Beneath yellowish white, with brown, arrow«shaped spots on breast and sides. Wings with two whitish bands. Tail very long. Female paler. Bill black, lower mandible yellow at base ; feet light.
Sony: Bravura style, with frequent colloquial strains.
Season : Last week in April to early October.
Breeds: From the Gulf States northward.
Nest: In low shrubbery or thickly leaved tree, a boldly made structure of grape-vine, bark, grasses, twigs, and rootlets. In sandy localities, generally on the ground.
Eggs: 4, green, sometimes paling to white, thickly speckled with brown.
Range: Eastern United States, west to the Rocky Mountains, north to southern Maine, Ontario, and Manitoba, south to the Gulf States, including eastern Texas. Accidental in Europe.
Song Thrush, Red Thrush, Brown Mockingbird, Mavis, are four of the local names for this most exultant and (quan- tity and quality considered) dashing of our song-birds. He arrives from late April to early May, and, after a week or so of almost uninterrupted music, settles down and pre pares his nest.
It is impossible to mistake the Thrasher. The brilliant 80
