We were told that the woods were full of birds " that sang all night," so we walked up the lane road, the soft light coming partly from the setting sun and partly from the high May moon.
The waterfall resounded from where the hills dropped suddenly to the hollow. A single Whip-poor-will darting from the woods almost brushed my face and uttered his mournful call in my ear. Above the waterfall was a chain of ponds, and sitting on the rail of a separating bridge we listened and waited. A fox crept down to the water to drink, and as the wind blew toward us he did not suspect our proximity and lapped at leisure, the clear moonlight showing his shabby, faded spring coat.
Suddenly from the woody banks the Veeries began their song. They had been singing by twos and threes ever since sunset, but now the sound was as of a full chorus compared to the humming of a few voices. From all sides the notes rang: "Taweel 'ah, taweel ah!" and then a tone lower: "twil-ah, twil-ah!" no two birds seeming to sing precisely at once but continually echoed themselves and each other. Why is not this bird called the Echo Thrush? The name would reveal its identity to any one who had ever heard the song.
The music lasted until after nine o'clock, when it died away in a whisper like a benediction of the night and the Whip-poor-will was left as sentry for the midnight hours.
Gray-cheeked Thrush: Turdus alicice.
- Length:
- 7.60-8 inches.
- Male and Female:
- No eye ring. Head and back uniform olive-brown.Throat buff and slightly speckled; sides dull grayish white, the specks running into a wash. Cheeks gray; bill slender.
- Song:
- In tone like other Thrushes, but differently accented — " Wee-o, wee-o, tit-ti wee-o!" (Torrey.)
Season:
- May, remaining a week or so; return migration in October.
- Breeds:
- Northward from northern New Bogland; and var. bicknelli in New York and New England.
- Neat:
- In bushes made of moss, twigs, and grass.
- Eggs:
- 4, greeniss biue, speckled with brown.
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